


A Little Night Magic

by Ladyhawk_lhflu



Series: A Little Night Magic [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Mating, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-05-24 04:54:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 27,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14947943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyhawk_lhflu/pseuds/Ladyhawk_lhflu
Summary: While teaching at Hogwarts after the war, Remus has become complacent. A little too complacent.





	1. Remus

**Author's Note:**

> Every chapter is labelled by the POV it's from.

Standing by the Whomping Willow, I stared at the Shack outside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that would be my home for the night. My body tensed as I thought about what was coming. 51 years of being a werewolf did not make the full moon nights any easier. The Wolfsbane potion did ease things a little, and I was glad for it. But the curse still tore me apart once a month. And my recovery took just a little longer than it had 10 years ago, even though the wolf wasn't attacking me as it had before I had the potion.

My thoughts of the coming night so preoccupied me that I startled when a hand touched my shoulder. Turning, I saw the Herbology professor holding out a cup of tea to me with a smile. I took it gratefully. "Thank you, Neville. That's just what I needed."

"I have a chocolate bar in my robe pocket if that's not enough to get you through your first class." My former student and now good friend turned to face the Shack. "Did Firenze fix the upstairs floorboards?"

"Yes. Within five minutes of Poppy showing him the bruises on my foot. She had to give me Skele-Grow before she showed him." In fact, the centaur professor had stormed over to the Shack with such intent that the medi-witch said the Whomping Willow stopped moving its branches before he touched it.

"It was the first time she ever had to give me a potion to help me heal." 

"Ouch." Neville shuddered, his eyes filled with sympathy. A moment later, his voice turned firm as he restarted the argument we had been having for the past year. "Will you please let me use that monitoring spell on the Shack this month? If it had been there last month, we could have gotten to you sooner."

He shook his head when I started to protest. "Stop it. You take your Wolfsbane religiously, and Firenze isn't human. You'd have no reason to attack him even if the potion wasn't working."

"I've been dealing with the wolf by myself all my life." I sipped my tea to hide my discomfort. It was better if I dealt with the wolf alone, even if my condition in the post-moon mornings was starting to worry me. Nobody needed to see me beaten up every month, regardless of whether they were human or not.

Neville shook a finger at me. "*Most* of your life. Don't disparage your pack by denying they existed." He sighed. "Like the Marauders, we're your friends. We want you to stay safe. And if someone watched over you, maybe Teddy would be able to study for his NEWTs rather than stare at this place all night."

I raised an eyebrow. "Tori said he went to bed before she did. I asked her the day after the moon."

"He probably took a nap, because he was out here waiting for me before dawn. His wand and books were under the willow." Neville clapped me on the shoulder. "Please reconsider. He was nearly in tears when we had to break the floorboards to get your foot out of that rotted spot."

"Ok, ok. I'll consider it. I just don't want my son horrified by seeing the transformation."

Neville turned me back towards the castle. "He'll be 17 next month. He can handle it. I think he's already seen it, actually. He came to my quarters during one of the full moons in his second year, sure that you'd be dead in the morning. That was the first time Firenze went over to the Shack to check on you during the night."

"He never told me." As we headed into the castle, I spotted a head of blue hair in the stream of students going to their classes. Using the wolf's speed, I pulled my son out of the crowd and wrapped him in a hug.

"Hi, Dad." My only child whispered into my shoulder. "Do you want me to teach the first years this afternoon?"

Teddy looked me calmly in the eye as he pulled back from the hug. "Treple said I could skip practice. He knows what day it is, and we play Hufflepuff next game. He isn't worried."

"Yes, you can help me teach," I said, ruffling my son's hair, which was starting to change from blue to the whitish-grey that mine had become. "Just make sure you get your own work done."

"I always do. I don't want the head of my house taking points away from me." He smiled impishly as he straightened my teaching robes. 

"I couldn't do it, and you know it. That's why Professor McGonagall decides when you lose points." I was grateful that my son understood that it was awkward enough having to send him to Minerva for punishment. He rarely made me do it, because he could see that it bothered me.

Teddy squeezed my arm affectionately. "Make sure you let Nev--Professor Longbottom help you with the boggart for the third years. It almost got away from you the last time you taught that lesson so close to the moon. Grady won't let me out of potions at that time. We're making Veritaserum."

"I will, if you promise not to spend the whole night outside at the Whomping Willow."

"Who told you..?" Teddy turned to glare at Neville, who just shrugged. Teddy shook his head. "If you'd look for your mate, you'd have someone who's safe around you no matter if the potion is working or not. Then I wouldn't have to spend all night outside to make sure you're well."

"Having a mate is dangerous. I will not trap anyone like that again. I didn't have any idea that a long term separation from me would nearly drive your stepfather mad when I took him as my mate. But now that I know that's possible, I won't put anyone else at risk."

Teddy didn't bother to hide his frown. "It hurt you too. S-Someone told me being separated weakened you and that his death nearly killed you."

"You went to see Tori's uncle in Hogsmeade last week, didn't you? I told you that George exaggerates. It hurt quite a bit, but I wasn't in danger of dying." I turned my head as I said this. What Teddy said was closer to the truth than I cared to admit. It made me feel guilty when I was in front of him, because his mother's death simply sent me into a two-month depression.

Although the wolf constantly told me that my second mate was near, I refused to acknowledge it. It was better for that person and it was better for Teddy. My son needed to work on his schoolwork, graduate and find employment so he could settle in with his love, Victoire Weasley. He didn't need to see his father reject the memory of his mother while fawning over a stranger.

I hugged Teddy again to wipe the worried expression off his face. "I'll see you this afternoon. And if you can't make it, just let me know. I'll be fine. I'll make the class run a little slower so these old bones can keep up."

Teddy sighed. "I'll be there. Don't release the lizards without me."

And with a sadness in his eyes that confused me, he turned to catch up with his girlfriend as she made her way to class.

I watched him go, then looked around to see if Neville was still nearby. I found him leaning against the outside wall of the Charms classroom. He too had a sad look in his eyes. "He's not going to break if you fall in love with someone else, Rem. And don't you think Tonks would have wanted you to find happiness again?"

"I beat the odds by having it twice, as fleeting as it was. My life has been about beating the odds to survive. I'll let my child and my so-called mate find happiness. I'm content watching those around me be happy."

Neville frowned but only said, "I'll see you at 11. I'll bring some lavender to calm the boggart in case it gets out of hand."

With that, he turned on his heel and headed toward the greenhouses. I looked at my watch and started hurrying in the opposite direction, towards the DADA classroom. I didn't want the 5th year Slytherins to find the book of curses before I explained what it was for.


	2. Neville

I turned away from Rem before I swore in front of the students milling around us. How could he be so unconcerned about his own life when he did so much to help everyone else live theirs?!

As I stomped to the greenhouses, I pondered my best friend. Remus always gave when anyone asked, whether it be to watch a child, help with a spell, chase boggarts out of a closet, or even go to Hogsmeade in the middle of the night to retrieve hot chocolate so that a homesick first year could get some sleep. But he had no idea that most of the Hogwarts teaching staff took turns listening by the willow on full moon nights. Or that this was not the first time--not even the 10th time--that I found out that Edward had camped out underneath the willow to be near his father during the night that Rem felt the most alone.

There were some nights that I joined him there. And I think the younger Lupin suspected why I sat under that tree with him, even though his father refused to acknowledge it.

The wolf chose me. I was Rem's mate.

I had known for years, even though it took Rem until 5 years ago to acknowledge that the wolf had chosen *someone* after Sirius Black, his first mate, died at the hands of his cousin.

I was lucky that I found out when I did, for I may never have known otherwise.

I always sent Ted with an extra rose when he visited the magical cemetery in Hogsmeade on the anniversary of his mother's death. Because if she hadn't told me that Rem's eyes turned dark amber every time I was near him, both Rem and I would have probably joined her in death.

She told me mere days before the Battle of Hogwarts. At first, her words confused me. But a quick look through the book of curses that I had swiped from the Restricted section of the library (to help me fight Voldemort) explained the importance of the metamorphagus' statement.

I couldn't be sure, but I thought that Tonks knew the implications of what she told me. I wanted to believe that by doing so, she was offering to let me share in Rem's life.

The truth could never be discovered, however. Because two days later, she was gone and I was fighting to wrest my mate's life away from the deadliest curse on the planet.

Nobody told Rem that we almost lost him to Dolohov's curse three times that day. Dolohov was a strong wizard. His spell lingered inside the human side of Rem even though the wolf trapped most of it inside its lycan form to keep Rem alive. 

The Killing Curse couldn't harm the wolf form. But it couldn't stay contained there. The wolf didn't have the strength to trap it for very long.

So Madame Pomfrey and I tried to pull the curse out of the wolf inside Remus. But each time we attempted to remove it, more of it bled into the human, stopping his heart. Finally, before the third attempt at removing the curse, we called in Bill Weasley.

Being part werewolf himself allowed Bill to draw some of the curse out of Rem and neutralize it. But it wasn't until we made Rem's teeth pierce the skin of my arm that we could get him out of danger. That allowed the werewolf curse to bleed into me to the degree it was in Bill.

Once a piece of Rem's wolf settled into me, Madame Pomfrey gave me a potion to help neutralize the Killing Curse. Then I began to draw it out of Rem. Bill said he could see the wolf inside Rem pace the release of the curse so that I had time to dispel its tendrils. The dark creature must have realized that letting it reach the man's weakened heart again would kill him.

Because of that, I learned to love the wolf as much as I was starting to love the man.

Remus spent his next two transformations in Greenhouse 2 because he was too weak to take Wolfsbane. I slept wrapped around the wolf both nights. Even in his dark form, his breathing and heartbeat were so ragged that I dared not leave in case he went into arrest.

But staying there was far from a hardship. Contrary to my mate's worst fears, the wolf did nothing more fearsome than nuzzle me as we rested.

====

I pushed away the memories of that horrible time so I could teach herbology to the second year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. But my frustration at my mate's stubbornness returned as I headed to the DADA classroom to help him.

If he would accept help during the change without fighting everyone, maybe the full moons would be easier on all of us.

I swung the potion bottles in the pack I used to keep them safe. One bottle was the ever-present Wolfsbane potion. The other was a potion to calm the fire in his joints, what muggles called arthritis.

He took the Wolfsbane willingly because it meant keeping the school safe. He usually rejected the joint potion. But today I was prepared to pour it down his throat if I had to. I had no objection to levitating him to the infirmary after the moon. But he could barely stand last month, which made me curse the apparation wards around the school. He had been in no condition to even fake walking.

So Grady had cleared the path of students as I brought him through. Although the adults knew that some moons were rougher than others, we all agreed with Rem that the younger students didn't need to worry about his condition.

But that didn't stop me from calling Ted and Tori to the infirmary as soon as Rem was settled.

Because of his condition the month before, I was determined to make tonight easier on everyone by getting my friend to take the bloody joint potion. If he didn't, I swore I'd tell him who made it and the Wolfsbane.

====

The DADA boggart lesson in third year had become legendary. So legendary that Rem had to move it to the end of third year to keep the parents of our students from showing up to watch it.

The legend also grew in the dorm common rooms. As I walked into the classroom, the children stared up at me and whispered to each other. That silly rumor had obviously spread to this year's class as well.

Everyone in the school from 4th year to the faculty knew that I had been the first one to face the boggart in Rem's DADA class. They also knew that the boggart had taken the shape of Severus Snape while I gazed at it. However, although the adults were well aware that I had been frightened of the potions master simply looming above me, the younger children had lately been told by someone that my boggart had taken the shape of *Headmaster* Snape, who they claimed had tortured me. So the rumor proceeded to state that it was I who Professor Lupin had saved because he momentarily feared the shape I saw was real, not Harry and the Dementor shape he saw.

Although I was flattered by the thought of my mate coming to my rescue, the children needed a better sense of time in the pre-war events. So I started the lecture part of the lesson to let Rem concentrate on helping the children focus their magic. I proceeded to explain how the boggart's magic worked, how the Riddikulus spell worked, and how the boggart's shape could seem so real that their professor had attempted to save *Harry* from the Dementor shape the year I was given this lesson.

I could hear some of the girls sigh as I ruined the rumor. That I expected. Tori Weasley had told me that it was more romantic for me, rather than Harry, to be saved by Rem. Everyone knew Harry loved his wife Ginny dearly, and would never part from her. I, however, was single, and was Rem's friend. It wasn't much of a stretch for the young ones to see us as a couple. But given the actual situation (that only I was aware of), I needed to break the rumor before I started thinking I could walk into his bedroom that night. I would not force myself on him, no matter what I or the being inside him wanted.

A moment later, Rem walked in the door. He nodded an acknowledgement at the bottles I had set on his desk, then asked the children if they had any questions about the boggart or the spell before they began their hands-on demonstration. When most of the children shook their heads, Rem and I shuffled them into a line before the cabinet.

I made sure to stay towards the back of the line and nudge the students who began to get bored waiting for their classmates. Although everyone knew what shape the boggart would take if it focused on Rem, my fears had changed drastically from when I was a child. I didn't want Rem or the students seeing what they had become.

So I kept the children calm until the boggart made a break for it and headed for the door of the classroom behind me. 

Without thinking, I ran after it and around it so I could block the way out of the room.

A second later, the boggart focused on me. As it changed, I heard a scream from the students.

I couldn't blame the children. Who wouldn't scream if they saw their DADA professor lying on the floor half transformed and covered in blood?

For a moment, I stood there frozen, worried that what I was seeing was real. Then I looked up and met the shocked eyes of my mate.

One deep breath later, I waved my wand, shouted "Riddikulus!" and swept the boggart's form away in the billows of a brightly colored circus tent.


	3. Remus

The impact of seeing Neville's fears displayed before us ran through me like a shocking hex. *That* was his greatest fear? No wonder he nagged me worse than Molly Weasley on the days before the full moon.

But before I could question him about it, I heard the boy next to me muffle a sob. Looking around at the children, I quickly realized that they were as shaken as I was. So I dismissed the class after reminding them that the boggart's forms were not real.

When the last student left the classroom, I made my way over to where Neville was leaning on the wall near the door with an arm over his eyes.

Trying not to startle him, I gently grabbed the arm and lowered it to his side. "I'm sorry," I whispered as I saw the tear tracks on his cheeks. "You can use the monitoring spell on the Shack tonight."

"And the joint potion?" Neville asked after taking a deep breath.

"I'll take it today. If it helps, I'll keep taking it." I held his arm again and led him to my office in the back of the classroom. There, I made both of us a cup of tea. By the time I was finished, he appeared much calmer.

Once he leaned back in his chair in the lazy way he had picked up from Ron Weasley, I softly reminded him that "The transformation isn't going to kill me."

My friend shook his head. "It's not just the transformation. I lied to you many years ago. You didn't live because Dolohov's curse grazed you during the battle in the castle. It hit you head on. You nearly died on us."

"What?" I stared at Neville in shock.

My friend drained his tea before the stutter that plagued him as a child resurfaced. "I-I can't tell you what it took to keep you alive, not yet. As-Ask me in another month or two." He shook a hand at me when I tried to speak up. "I have my reasons. Please believe me. Poppy won't tell you either. She knows I need to be the one."

He drew in a shuddering breath. "What I can tell you now is that your heart stopped. More than once. By the time you were stabilized, your heart had been weakened so much that we had to monitor you on the full moon nights during your recovery. We were all afraid that if we didn't, we'd find you dead in the Greenhouse the next morning."

I covered my face as I tried to comprehend the fear and worry my friend had lived with for the past 17 years.  "Why didn't you tell me? I didn't mean to make the full moons harder on you."

"You make them harder on *you*." Neville retorted sharply. "Shouldn't that be enough to try a few things to ease them?" His eyes examined my face as he sighed. "You were so depressed after Tonks' death that I dared not tell you about the fight to keep you alive. I was afraid it might make you believe your life was a burden. We needed you to recover, not become suicidal."

"Oh, I still had such thoughts from time to time." I confessed. "But you and Harry helped immensely in that regard. Caring for Teddy, dragging me here to help with the repairs. And I'm still trying to figure out which one of you bribed Minerva to shove the DADA job at me again."

"You'll have to blame Snape's portrait for that one." Neville smiled when I blinked in confusion. "It admitted that Snape revealed your lycanthropy to try to keep Voldemort from getting his hands on you. Riddle's curse on the position meant that whomever took it would end up being used by him somehow. Given your magical strength and skill, he didn't want to risk you winding up with the Death Eaters. Once Minerva heard how much *Snape* considered you qualified for the position, she made me kidnap you from the store you were working at so she could talk to you."

"So that's how I apparated to Hogsmeade 'accidentally'. It was no accident." I couldn't help but be amused. By the time Neville had turned 20, he had become a much better liar. He never gave me any indication he had caused me to arrive at George's store until today.

"I don't regret borrowing Harry's cloak so I could apparate you. You give the class the expertise it needs. And I couldn't have gotten through Ponoma's retirement and taking over Herbology without you." Neville patted my hand. "But George came up with the lie about apparation and sun spots. He had watched a muggle program on astronomy the night before."

"I'm sure it took your editing to make the story make sense." I kept the smile on my face. I didn't want Neville to think I was offended by his manipulation. In fact, I had been flattered when Minerva walked me to Hogwarts that day. I had known my arrival in Hogsmeade hadn't been an accident the moment the Headmistress mentioned me and teaching in the same sentence. I just had never figured out who was good enough to be a Marauder.

Neville and I sat in my office talking idly for a little longer. But both of us had another class once the first years finished lunch. So, before I was inundated with 11 year olds, I squeezed my friend's shoulder. "Join Teddy and me for dinner in my rooms. We should talk about an arrangement for the moon that will make you more comfortable."

"Making *you* more comfortable would be a good start." Neville huffed, then nodded. "I'll come over around 6. That should give us a chance to eat and talk before I walk you to the Shack."

I started to protest, but fell silent when I saw him glare at me. "Ok. I'll stop worrying. Can I thank you for the company?"

"I'll let you do that right before moonrise." Neville's face relaxed before he stood and I felt something ghost through my hair. But before I could ask him what it was, the office door closed behind him and he was gone.


	4. Edward (Teddy)

After the class with my Dad, I walked into the office behind Greenhouse 2 with a sigh. "First years need to wear padded robes when they perform magic."

"Lock the door, Ted. And save the padded robes for second year dueling. The only things that would protect the first years from themselves are twenty foot long wand arms," the man in front of me replied without turning around. A quick glance told me that he had a cauldron on the table he was facing. His careful hands were chopping ingredients for what smelled like a very pungent potion. One I recognized immediately.

I obeyed my professor quickly, automatically turning around to lock the office door. When that was done, I settled into the open chair next to the cauldron and eyed the smoking concoction. "I thought you had finished the Wolfsbane doses two days ago, Nev."

Most of the professors at Hogwarts expected me to be familiar with them when out of the sight of other students. Dad and I officially lived in Hogsmeade until I was 11, but I was practically raised in the castle. So the Herbology professor didn't bat an eye at my tone. He just explained, "This is in preparation for next month. Severus suggested I try adding ginger to the potion to try to lessen the pain of the change. The bottle I gave your father earlier had some in it. This one has ginger and a few other herbs." Neville shook his head. "I'll have to have a few varieties on hand until we figure out which one works best. Last month's episode scared everyone. Your father's never been that weak before."

The thought of Dad's condition last month made me shudder. Then a thought flashed through my head. "When will you tell him that you're not getting this from the Ministry? I'm afraid he'll have to take a set of doses from there and will realize how bad it still is."

Neville leaned back in his chair. "Severus is consulting with your godfather on how to improve the Ministry potion. There's been some progress."

I looked up at the ghost hovering in front of Neville with a smile. "Thank you, Headmaster Snape."

"Don't thank me until it works, pup." The ghost sneered. "I retrained this one to the point where he is passable at making the potion. But don't expect miracles from the Ministry. They are stubborn beyond belief, even with Shacklebolt at the head."

I crossed my arms and gave Snape an exasperated glare. "Nev is more than passable at making Wolfsbane. The one from the Ministry wouldn't allow him to eat after he took it. It upset his stomach severely. This one makes Madame Pomfrey happy because he actually eats dinner before moonrise. He gets a feast from the house elves and usually invites Nev to share it."

"Well, it's a good thing I like steak tartare." Nev chuckled. "Or I'd be elsewhere for dinner."

"You two make me look like a scrawny kid. You eat almost as much as he does!"

"You are a scrawny kid." Neville pointed a finger at me. As he did, his unbuttoned shirt finally revealed the necklace that I have been trying to get a look at for 10 years.

I had known he wore charmed jewelry for years. It wasn't hard to see it flash under his shirt from time to time. But I had never been allowed to see its actual shape. The way Nev *always* had his shirts strictly buttoned around Dad, no matter how casual they were being, made me think the charm had something to do with Dad.

So I wasn't surprised when the charm *was* Dad, in wolf form. It couldn't be any other wolf. It bore a white patch above its right front leg, where that damned Death Eater left his mark.

I reached out to touch it instinctively. Dad wouldn't let me pet him or even get near him after the transformation. But I really really wanted to. Part of me knew it would help him.

Neville jerked when I touched his skin to move his shirt away from the pewter charm. Oh, damn. He was as jumpy as Dad was about the wolf.

I didn't need both of them telling me to stay away. So I took a deep breath and took a chance. "It's ok, Papa," I said quietly. "I just wanted to see it. Dad never lets me see Moony."

"How did you...?" Neville stared at me with a puzzled expression. He knew I called Sirius Black Papa even though I never met him. So now Nev knew that I knew I essentially had three fathers.

I shrugged. "I always knew. Maybe Mom told me somehow. Because we both know that Dad didn't."

"Your mom actually told me," my younger stepfather admitted. "But I never figured out why. She died a few days after that."

My hand reached out to Nev's, as it had so many times before. But this time, it was to comfort him instead of myself. "It served her well. Because she told you, you helped Madame Pomfrey keep Dad alive. And you were always there for me when I couldn't talk to Dad or Harry."

"It wasn't a hardship, Little Blue." Nev ruffled my hair as I obligingly brightened it to the color of my nickname. "It's your father who drives me crazy. But I think I scared him into a better state today. The boggart got out of control and focused on me. So Rem found out what my worst fear is."

I wrapped an arm around Nev. I didn't have to ask what the boggart became. "I have the same fear. If Dad would let us near him, it'd be better. But he's so afraid of everyone else getting hurt that he'll let himself get killed for others' safety."

"Maybe we can prove to him that his staying safe is part of keeping us safe." Neville hugged me. "The way his foot looked after we pulled it out of the floorboard must have been on my mind, because the boggart was a bloody mess. I hope it didn't scare Lee's little cousin too badly."

"Your dad was very careful with me after the boggart gave away my secret. So I told him a little of what we did to keep him alive during the war. My fear made more sense to him then. But I couldn't tell him about Moony choosing me. Not with him so adamant about refusing to mate again. If he knew, he'd..."

"Probably refuse to come near you again." I whispered. "But I've heard all the stories about you in the war. You are so strong. If you can't out-stubborn Dad, how did Mom ever do it?"

"She threw the evidence that she loved him in his face...or so I've heard." Nev said as he squeezed my arm. "I'm going to need to do that too, I believe. And soon. The magic between us is beginning to feel unbalanced somehow. But I have to get past his defenses. So I'm coming up with a more subtle plan than the outburst your mother shoved at him."

"Do you need some help? I can be subtle."

Neville laughed. "Your type of subtle reminds me of fireworks. It's better if I handle it myself. Just don't tell your dad anything."

I held up my hand. "I won't. I solemnly swear."

I heard Snape snort behind us. "Just make sure your plan is more successful than Black's pranks."

Neville shook his head. "I will. If I get this right, it'll allow you to rest, Severus. You'll have repaid the debt to Professor Dumbledore by helping me be with him."

Snape mumbled about how unfair Dumbledore had been to make him repay revealing Dad's lycanthropy to the school, even after death. Making Wolfsbane while he was alive had not been enough. The older headmaster wouldn't let Snape rest until Dad was *happy* again. And apparently, the happiness Dad had felt when Mom was around hadn't been good enough.

I didn't ever ask either of the professors why, but I did wonder at it. Mom had made Dad happy. My birth had made Dad happy. 

But then the reason for the Headmaster's demand came to me. We hadn't made the wolf happy.

Dad and the Moony weren't happy at the same time, and hadn't been since Papa Sirius' death. That dual joy was what it was going to take for Snape to move on. 

But given Dad's tendency to avoid the wolf, was that even possible? It wouldn't be an easy task, that was certain. And it shouldn't be one that Nev faced alone.

An idea began to form in my mind. One that was subtle enough to help Papa Nev. But I needed to start on it now. So I hugged his shoulders and ran out his office door.

I had to find Tori before I met Dad for dinner. I needed her to owl her father.


	5. Neville

Dinner was the usual feast of raw meats, vegetables and chocolate (with a portion of the Great Hall meal set aside for Ted) as Rem prepared for the energy-sapping transformation. Madame Pomfrey would be pleased when I reported to her that he ate with enthusiasm. But I couldn't say the same for myself. Despite the pull of the ghostly wolf inside me, I was too distracted by my plans.

It was urgent that I start Rem down the path to acknowledging his mate tonight. Before the magic binding us together began to warp.

That magic had been muted when Tonks told me of its existence. If I hadn't watched the change in his eyes happen repeatedly during the night we fought the Killing Curse, I might not have believed her.

It grew stronger that night, as the wolf became part of me and we fought to keep the man alive. I hadn't needed the magic to begin the struggle I fought with the curse. But I believed it was the reason Moony helped me defeat it.

The magic continued to grow as I and those we both called friends fought to not lose him to despair after the war. We had all lost loved ones. But he had lost so many, and ones so precious to him that he was crushed by the weight of it all. So, as a group, we bolstered each other so that we could be there for him. The connection between him and I then grew once more as we persuaded him settle into our collective arms, where we could make sure he was content.

But in all that time, I had not sought him out as mate. Instead, I positoned myself near him so that I was ready when he began to accept the pull inside him. That kept both of us from ill health for more than a decade. But the emotional toll on me...well, I did my best to hide it. Because I needed to. Rem had to understand that I was with him to be a part of his life, not to undermine it. So I had waited for Rem to find a life without Tonks. I had waited for Teddy to grow up.

Now it was time for me to reach for what was mine. And this time I'd be damned if I'd let Rem stop me.

But I had to do it carefully. His reticence meant that I couldn't just go up to him and ask to be his. So instead, I'd use the werewolf magic to pull him to me.

There were two necessary elements to the werewolf mating process. The acknowledgement of one's mate and the, well, mating itself. 

Usually the werewolf would acknowledge the mate publicly before taking their chosen to somewhere for the more private claiming. I decided that I needed to do this in reverse order. I'd mate with him. Then sooner or later he'd have to acknowledge me.

But I wanted Moony's permission first. So I was going to join him in the Shack this night. If Moony didn't object to my presence, I'd proceed to the next step.

I battled with my thoughts and refined my plan as I ate my salad quietly. Rem didn't notice, as he seemed intent on questioning Teddy about his Charms homework, so that Rem could use that information in the next DADA lesson.

Ted noticed my distraction, however. When my gaze met his, he quirked his eyebrow in mirror of his father's inquiring ways. Knowing that he was asking to help, I shook my head. I didn't want him involved in a situation that I was still very unsure of.

So I suffered through my worries as we finished dinner, then as Rem explained how he would set the monitoring charms so that nobody could see him and be frightened of him. He wanted to only be visible if the charm detected an emergency. At which point, the charm would then inform me and whomever I chose of the situation.

This was good news for my plan. I had become proficient at modifying charms over the years. Ten years ago, I had heavily modified a pain detection charm that Andromeda Tonks had shown me. I had first modified it to be undetectable. Then I had found a way to have it send its alerts to the pewter wolf I wore around my neck at all times. And I had altered it again this month to tell me if Rem was in serious distress.

Those tasks had been difficult, but not impossible for me. So I figured I could alter Rem's monitoring charm to not detect my presence in the Shack.

After dinner, we walked to the Shack, with Teddy trailing behind us. As usual, Rem stopped his son before he could enter the building. I could see Teddy bristle, but he did not protest when he saw that Rem was letting me enter the wolf's domain.

I let the master of defense lay the monitoring charms on the walls to his satisfaction. Under the guise of checking his work and creating alerts, I altered the charms to not see me. 

Once we were finished, I helped him disrobe and placed his clothes on the shelf by the front door that the Marauders had put there for that purpose. Then I wrapped the old blanket that had sat on the shelf around him. "Keeping warm until the transformation will help your joints. Don't worry if you destroy it, there are others."

Rem smiled. "What would I do without you, my friend?"

I smiled back, but did not answer his seemingly rhetorical question. But as always, I left him with a wish. "May this be a good moon."

Then I retreated to the Willow to wait until his transformation was finished.

====

When I made it back to the tree, Teddy was waiting under it with his girlfriend. Next to them in the grass was an unexpected figure.

"Bill." I nodded to the man to whom I owed two lives.

"Neville." The eldest of Molly Weasley's children returned my nod. "My daughter told me you were finally ready to take what is yours. So I came to see if I could be of any help."

"I'm pretty sure I have to do this alone." I crossed my arms and glared at Rem's son, who looked contrite, but only for a moment.

"I've never seen any books on werewolf mating," Teddy whispered urgently. "And I'm pretty sure what you know came from that book in the Restricted Section that Dad won't let me look at. Mr. Weasley told me there isn't much about mating in there either."

I shook my head. "Bill's right, there isn't much in it. And your dad won't let you look at it because there's a picture of a murdered werewolf on the 5th page. He didn't want it to give you nightmares."

I reached out to put a comforting hand on Teddy's shoulder when he shuddered. Then I turned to Bill. "Do you know more than I do?"

Bill shook his head, but a moment later, he pulled a mirror out of his jacket pocket. "It's 30 minutes to moonrise. You have half an hour to question someone who *does* know more about werewolf mating than both of us combined."

He tapped the mirror with his wand, and instantly a face appeared in it. "Mate of the Hero, it is an honor." The face bobbed as if he were bowing. "I am Greg Landis, Alpha of the pack in Cardiff. The cursebreaker told me you needed information about mating."

I gave Bill a disgruntled look. The other man just chuckled. "He doesn't have time for long introductions."

I sighed and nodded. What Bill said was true. So I quickly told Landis of my plan to win over the man who wouldn't acknowledge the wishes of his wolf.

Landis listened intently. When I was finished, he said, "You are more patient than any lycan would be. But patience is not limitless. So I do understand why you go to such lengths now. But be careful. A rejection will destroy the magic between you. So you will need to disguise yourself. The wolf will know you no matter what your form. But the man cannot reject you if he doesn't know who you are. The possibility of rejection from the Hero is very real. Rumors say that he rejected his non-mate many times before she wore him down."

"She was a strong woman who chose to ignore his rejections. I am doing my best to be like her so I can take care of the man we love. So I must ask you something. Will the mating hurt him in any way, if he chooses to accept my advances?"

Landis shrugged. "Only if you are gone from him for more than four days. As you both live at the castle where you teach the young pups, that should not be an issue. The mating magic will remain mostly dormant until he acknowledges you. But the rutting should stabilize it."

Then I walked away from the others to talk to Landis about more intimate matters (he advised me that an Alpha often likes a challenge in bed). When we were finished, I thanked the Welsh leader and wished him a good moon.

Landis smiled. "And to you and your mate. I will pass the mirror to one of our human mates in case you need advising later tonight. You and the Hero are welcome to run with us during any moon. He is not only a strong lycan, he is a compassionate one. He has convinced his human pack to teach one of us."

This puzzled me until I remembered that there was a first year lycan in Ravenclaw. Unlike Rem, who had been taught to isolate himself during the moon, the child was given a portkey once a month to send him home to his pack. "Did Bran make it home?" I asked with a guilty note to my voice. I should have checked on the boy long before this.

But Landis didn't appear concerned. "Yes, the Hero checks the portkey every month. There has not been a problem. Please thank him and your medi-witch for the salve for all of us. We are most grateful. We will send Bran back tomorrow afternoon."

Relief coursed through me. Then I focused once again on the Welsh Alpha, telling him that I'd pass his information on to the headmistress. But the moon was almost risen. So after a quick word of thanks, I tapped the mirror to stop its spell.

When I returned to the willow, I found Filius Flitwick under it, sighing. "I've lost two galleons. Hagrid told me he was sure that Sybill was Remus' mate. He claimed that's why she wouldn't enter the betting pool."

I chuckled as I handed the mirror back to Bill. "Hagrid is good with light creatures, but the dark ones confuse him at times."

Filius scoffed. "That is not a dark creature in the Shack. He is a light creature living under a dark curse." Knowing it was true, I nodded solemnly. As I turned, I saw Bill and the two teenagers do the same.

I sat down in front of the Charms professor. "For the sake of that light creature, I need you to teach me the glamour spell. I need to appeal to the wolf, but the human isn't to know who I am."

Filius agreed without hesitation, and assured me that he would remain on watch the entire night if it helped my cause. I wasn't sure if that was necessary, but I implored all of them to keep quiet about my status with the wolf and that I would be in the Shack with Rem. There'd be less chance of Rem finding out who his mate was that way.

So I practiced the spell with Filius until I was sure that my features were adequately obscured. Then I prepared to do the one thing that nobody had done since Sirius Black was alive.

I prepared to meet Moony.


	6. Remus

Neville was correct that I needed the joint potion. Although the transformation was never painless, this time I was able to stand on all four legs when it was over. And the trembling that had pervaded them all night last month stopped after a minute of walking around the front room of the Shack.

Satisfied with my condition, I prepared to curl up on the rug near the window. But I stopped in my tracks when I smelled a presence. Human, mixed with the scent of cinnamon. A moment later, the door to the Shack opened and the scent of cinnamon became stronger. Then somebody walked into the small front room.

I could tell the person was most likely male, as the form was tall and broader than most females. But I couldn't decipher anything more. Something was making it difficult for me to see their features. And the cinnamon obscured their natural scent, so I couldn't identify them by smell.

So I could only assume that he was a threat. I growled sharply, showing my teeth. Considering the size of the wolf, that was usually enough to send most creatures who encountered me during the full moon in the other direction.

But this one was not deterred. The man simply sat down on the floor near the door and did not say a word.

I growled again and took a few steps toward him. He then leaned back on his arms as if offering himself to me. But that was absurd. Nobody would want to be...The implications of such an idea scared me enough that I backed away seconds later.

I expected the man to come after me, but he didn't. He laid on the floor facing me. Then he stretched one arm out towards me, putting his hand palm up on the floor. A silent beckoning.

The wolf was curious about this man in front of me. But my human instinct demanded caution. So I moved across the room and laid down facing him. And I did not take my eyes off him.

He, on the other hand, did not seem concerned for his safety. For a time, he seemed to watch me, though I was not sure how much he could see in the dim room. But when the clouds shifted away from the moon a few minutes later, his face seemed to align with mine as if he were watching my eyes, and the hand on the floor clenched and unclenched slowly. He seemed to want to grab or hold something.

But he did not make any move towards me. In fact, about an hour after he laid down, he settled as if sleeping. I could not see his eyes to be sure, but his breathing evened out. If he wasn't asleep, he was most certainly relaxed.

I laid my muzzle on my paws, pondering the blurred sight before me. The man before me was not frightened of me. He had not tried to threaten me, hurt or kill me, or even insult me. He had stayed a respectful distance from me, hadn't made any sudden moves, and his relaxed state said that he most likely trusted me.

The only conclusion that I could come to was that he knew me.

Though I did not want to encourage anyone to be this close to a transformed werewolf, I was very curious about my unexpected company. So slowly, inch by inch, I crawled on the floor towards the man. It was difficult to tell if he knew I was coming closer, so I watched where his head was the whole time, in order to anticipate an attack. He never moved, however. So I kept shifting towards him until I was in arm's length.

Being so close to him did not make his features more distinct. The spell he was using to obscure them was strong. But even though I could not recognize him by sight or scent, I felt the wolf urging me closer.

I couldn't stop myself, even though Wolfsbane coursed through my transformed body. I crawled to him until my nose touched his outstretched hand.

Then I felt it. The magic instantly coursed between us. I still didn't know who he was, but I suddenly knew what he was.

My mate.

At that revelation, I involuntarily let out a whimper. I couldn't do this. I couldn't trap this man in the madness that had nearly destroyed my Sirius.

But I couldn't move away.

After a few moments of me resting my muzzle on his palm, the man slowly curled his fingers to ghost over the hairs there. When I made no move other than another whimper, he shifted so that he could rest his body next to mine, pressing his chest against my flank.

The sensation of him there felt familiar, but I couldn't understand why. Nobody had touched me like that when I was in wolf form. I wouldn't let them, for their own safety.

But for some reason, the need to keep him safe did not send me scrambling to the opposite side of the room. So the logical part of me hoped that the books were right, and that mates were safe around lycans in wolf form, whether the Wolfsbane worked well or not.

As I began to relax, the man shifted once more. Slowly, he kissed the top of my head three times. Then he once again settled next to me with an arm slung over my back.

Moments later, his breathing evened out, as if he had fallen asleep. Relaxed in a way that I hadn't been in decades, I soon joined him.

The transformation back to human woke me in the morning. By the time it had finished, I knew my mate had gone. I had expected that, as he had done so much to hide his identity. But when I reached for my clothes on the shelf by the door, I felt something setting on top of them.

A moment later, a tube of pain salve fell into my hand.

After using a little wandless magic to make sure it was safe, I rubbed it in and put on my clothes.

Then I silently thanked my mate as I went to join Neville, who I knew was waiting by the willow for me.


	7. Neville

My night with Rem in the Shack went better than I expected. I felt Moony reaching for me as I laid on the floor of that forsaken place. But I could also feel Rem's guilt, almost tangible between us.

One day I had to find a way to convince him that his first mate had had only one regret concerning their relationship. And it hadn't been the mating. It had been his momentary belief that Rem had been the one to betray Harry's parents. Andromeda Tonks told me that it was the guilt over that belief that nearly drove Sirius mad. The mates' separation had simply weakened him to the point where he was vulnerable to it, even without the Dementors' help.

When I went back to the willow, Teddy and Tori were sleeping under the stilled branches while Filius continued to keep watch.

Filius smiled up at me as I approached. "Did the wolf approve?"

I nodded. "Now I attempt to capture the man."

"That is easier said than done with our friend." A worried expression crossed the Charms professor's face.

"I need to, for both of us. So I will." I said determinedly. There was no other option if I wanted our relationship to continue. It had to grow.

I straightened my robes quickly, knowing that Rem could come out of the Shack at any moment. I hadn't seen any signs of pain as I had watched the wolf crawl to me last night. So there was a good chance that he ached less than usual this morning. Especially with the aid of the salve I left him.

And, in fact, the DADA professor emerged ten minutes later, once Filius had wandered back to the castle to get some sleep. After stopping for a moment to feel the sun on his face, he came over to us. Calmly, he smiled at me, then reached down to wake his son.

Teddy woke slowly and looked up. "How are you, Dad?" he asked with a yawn as he stood.

"Well enough to join you all for breakfast before I lay down."

Both my and Teddy's eyes went wide at this, as Rem had never joined us for breakfast after the moon. The earliest we saw him was at lunch. He usually had to sleep for a couple hours until his body would let him remain upright for any period of time.

Teddy was about to say something to Rem about this when I stopped him with a hand on his back. I didn't want him accidentally giving something away. He must have understood because he then just smiled and woke Tori.

I stayed one step behind Rem as we walked back to the castle, to make sure he felt as good as he believed. I had nothing to fear. He was not only moving well, but there seemed to be a distinct spring in his step.

====

Rem didn't mention the presence in the Shack at all that day. I hadn't expected him to, given how resistant he was to having a mate.

But the encounter seemed to have done him some good. He was more talkative and more relaxed as we spent some time in the late afternoon together grading papers. He was also more attuned to me, asking me if I was well, or if he needed to get anything from Madame Pomfrey to help me deal with the after effects of the boggart.

"Your presence and good health are the best cure," I assured him. At least for the moment. I promised myself the rest of the treatment would start the next night, after Rem had slept off any lingering effects of the transformation.

So once Rem left my rooms, I pulled out the muggle books on sex that I had hidden under the bed.

I needed the help the books afforded. I had had sex before. And recently. It hadn't been two months since I had visited a friend of a friend in London for a bit of stress relief. But it was fumbling and awkward, because I always chose to have one night stands. I was very clear to the people I chose to be with that I belonged to another, and I was only seeking momentary distraction.

Those circumstances were far from ideal for learning how to be a good lover. So I at least needed to brush up on my theory before I tried to seduce my mate.

The next day was Friday, my easy day. I had all of my classes before 3pm, and I took advantage of that fact.

I told Rem that I couldn't join him in the Great Hall for dinner, as I had to take care of a delivery of plants before the sun went down. This wasn't unusual, as many magical plants were extremely sensitive to environmental conditions.

But of course, I had nothing of the sort. I used the extra time to prepare for the night.

I read, reviewed, and planned. I worked on my wandless magic. I knew I couldn't take my wand with me to Rem's room. He had used my wand many times over our years together, rather effectively. He knew it nearly as well as he knew his own. So if he saw it, he'd immediately realize I was his mate. I was sure that he wasn't ready to handle that revelation yet.

Next, I showered, making sure I cleaned everywhere. Then I applied the cinnamon oil to my skin and practiced the glamour charm. I had to make sure it was strong tonight, as I would be quite distracted once I reached Rem's rooms...I hoped.

Then, when it was late enough, I covered myself in a plain black robe (and only the robe), cast the glamour charm, and opened the door to what I suspected was one of many secret hallways in the castle.

\--I had discovered it a couple weeks after Minerva had given me the set of rooms. I moved into them when I became the main professor of Herbology, more than 12 years ago. But I didn't know that they weren't just bigger than the staff room I had been given previously. I had been in my pyjamas, and seconds from getting into bed when I bumped against the narrow door near the wardrobe for the first time. 

But then that little door had cracked open. And I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep until I found out what was beyond it.

So I lit my wand and prepared for anything. After following its somewhat short but winding path and opening the door on the other side, I was rewarded by being able to watch my mate sleep next to the magical light he had not snuffed out. He had fallen asleep reading one of his huge Defense tomes.

But I felt guilty standing there, so I gently eased the book out of his arms and whispered a "Nox" to let the room grow dark. The guilt faded over time, however. I used the passageway many times after that. It was the main thing that kept me from screaming when Remus refused to acknowledge the connection between us.--

But this would be the first time he would be aware that someone could enter his rooms without opening the chamber door. So I didn't use anything to light my way, in order to make it harder for him to figure out where I emerged from.

Luckily, I had used the passageway so many times that my feet guided me without causing me to stumble even once.

I opened the passageway door into Rem's room slowly, to keep from startling him if he was awake. Then I closed it gently and looked around.

The room was lit by the waning moon, which gazed upon my mate from an open window. He was laying in bed in a pair of pyjama pants, his eyes closed. His eyes didn't open as I approached, but his nose sniffed the air. A moment later, he moved to lurch off the bed.

I laid one hand on his chest to stop him. But I couldn't say a word. The spells to change one's voice were difficult to master. And though I knew there were candies in George's joke shop that could do it for me, I wasn't sure I could handle Rem laughing at me if I talked in a squeaky voice.

But Rem seemed to understand my silence, as he was quiet when he tried to push me away. He shook his head, his eyes haunted by what he felt was the crime he committed against his first love.

Guided by instinct, I cradled his hand against my chest so he could feel the beating of my heart. Then I moved the hand I had on his chest to his left so I could feel his heart, so much stronger than the last time I had let myself feel its pulse while he was in human form, nearly 17 years ago.

The magic between us surged as our heartbeats settled into the same rhythm. We stayed there for some time just absorbing the presence of the other. But then Rem's hand on my chest shifted and slowly caressed the one that cradled it.

A moment later, he said words that made my soul leap.

"I don't want to be alone anymore."


	8. Remus

I smelled my mate before I saw him. Or rather, I smelled the cinnamon that he was using to disguise his scent. But even though it kept me from identifying him, it had become a comforting scent, one that announced that he was with me.

But I couldn't find a way around my past, and the wrong I had done. Although he had haunted my dreams last night, and the wolf cried out for him loudly, I still felt he was at risk in my presence. So the moment he touched me, I pushed him away.

Or tried to. My strength didn't seem to make any difference to him. He just absorbed it and let our heartbeats align. When they did, the wolf instantly calmed. And I realized why his laying against me had seemed so familiar two nights ago. His heart had kept mine going in the most literal sense. He was the monitor Neville had spoken of, the one who had made sure my heart kept beating after the Killing Curse nearly stopped it. For who else could have lain by the wolf's side without my awareness, and cause it to want to do so again, right then?

Everything inside me tried to reach for him once I realized how he had saved me. I could no longer fight. So I said the words that echoed through me. 

"I don't want to be alone anymore."

Those words must have been the sign he was waiting for. Because once they were between us, I saw the blurred outline of his head come toward me. Then soft lips slid gently against mine.

A moan greeted him as my body strained to get closer, to mirror the comfort of our night in the Shack. But this time I wanted to give as well as take.

So I grabbed his arms and pulled him towards me.  At the same time, I hooked his leg with mine so that he landed on my chest.

He resisted laying on me, for a moment. In that tension, his strength almost matched mine. But when I whispered in his ear that he should test how well his salve and my new potion were working, he began to relax. So I kissed him, letting him feel the eagerness that the wolf and I shared, for once.

As our mouths learned each other, his hands began to wander over me. I have never been so astonished by mere touch before. I expected hesitation. I expected exploration. I expected that my scars would be traced and commented on in some way.

My mate did let his hands map my form. He certainly did not ignore my scars. He did hesitate...for a second. But he treated my body as if he knew it, inside and out. There was a confidence in the hands that caressed me that only came from years of experience with the one you were sharing with. 

Rather than turning me off, his confidence aroused me. Especially when that sense of familiarity in his touch suffused my own hands. I knew his body. I seemed to instinctively know where to touch him, and how. My hands recognized the angle of a shoulder, the curve of his back, the skin of his fingers.

But I did not try to connect that familiarity to a person. Neither of us were ready for his unmasking. It would be a distraction from what was growing between us. Because I knew it would trigger my guilt.

So I concentrated on the heat building between us. The touches, the kisses. The muffled laughter as I found a ticklish spot on his side.

I grinned at that, but then gasped when he retaliated by ghosting his lips across the scar on my shoulder. Touches there never failed to make me shiver.

A minute later, we were wrestling on the bed, reaching for places that made the other moan, squirm, or beg for more. My mate struggled with staying silent as our arousal grew, but I did not encourage his voice. Instead, each time it tried to burst forth, I soothed him with a touch in his hair or on his shoulder to let him calm before he gave himself away.

He thanked me by kissing down my chest and exploring the one part of me that seemed new to him. Luckily, he found my size a challenge rather than a turn-off.

Before I knew it, my hands were buried in his hair as I tried to control myself enough to not choke him.

But he obviously wanted more from our encounter. Before I could spend myself down his throat, he surged back up my chest to straddle my hips. His hand waved with a quick snap. That hand curled around my cock, coating it with the lube he materialized.

Then he lowered himself inch by torturous inch onto me. By the time he was seated against me, I could barely breathe. My arousal was so strong that the touch of a feather would end it.

So I was surprised when his touch to my cheek calmed me...but brought the wolf forward.

But rather than letting the wolf control me, my mate soothed it too. Then he rocked on me slowly, steadily. I could feel the amorphous magic between us strengthen. Which further settled the wolf, but had me arching into him as I gasped for air.

I grabbed his hips so I could thrust, but he gently removed them so he could keep up his torturous slow rhythm. But soon, he found himself rocking hard enough to leave us both shuddering.

I thought I would die of arousal when finally, my mate bent his head to nip the scar that Greyback gave me. To the wolf, it was as if he took away every claim my sire had on me and replaced it with his claim instead.

He made me his.

That thought coursed through me, snapping my hips up, making me thrust into the one who had taken me. Then I was lost in the haze of pleasure that surrounded us both.

When I was conscious of something other than my nerve endings, I found myself curled around my mate. He, in turn, was nuzzling my neck gently.

I could feel the affection in his touch. Words were unnecessary.

But he must have decided that staying the night would risk what had grown between us in the last hour. He kissed me one last time, then used my hand to cover my eyes.

Understanding the request that I not look while he left, I kept my eyes covered for 15 minutes while I waited for the scent of cinnamon to dissipate.

Then I turned over so I could smell that same scent in my pillow as I fell asleep.


	9. Remus

The time with my mate didn't end with his claiming of me. He returned to my rooms at least two nights a week to repeat his claim. He only stayed for an hour or two each night. But it was enough for us to grow closer, even while keeping his identity hidden.

And the closeness that grew between us helped me feel closer to the others around me. In the weeks following our first night together, I spent more time with Neville, showed off my rather rusty Quidditch skills to Teddy, promised Firenze a run together on the next full moon, and exchanged spells with Filius Flitwick.

That growth continued for awhile, as my mate visited me at night almost until Teddy's birthday. But then it suddenly ended. I figured it might stop. Nobody can expect to be content as an unknown to their love.

What I didn't anticipate was that the end would reveal who he was. In a most painful way.

====

"Are you sure you don't mind watering the violets?" Neville asked for the fifth time as I watched him pack an overnight bag Thursday afternoon after his last class. He was headed to Norway to meet a friend and acquire a few plants.

"Of course not. They know better than to try to bite at my hands." I smiled as I watched his nervous energy. "Go, spend some time with Adele, and get those mandrakes from her. You need a break. I can watch a few plants until Monday morning."

"I will be back before my first class on Monday," my friend promised. "And don't give me that look. Adele is just a friend." 

"Do I need to apologize for wanting you to be happy?" I smiled on the outside, but on the inside I was glad that he hadn't found a lover. The idea disturbed me somehow.

Neville laughed, unaware of my conflict. "I'm happy right here. So expect me Monday morning."

"I will."

====

Neville didn't return Monday morning. He didn't arrive Tuesday either. That was when Minerva called Ponoma Sprout to cover his classes.

Like the rest of the faculty, I was concerned for my friend. But I found myself making excuses for him. He was chasing an exotic plant. He really was dating Adele. He went to see his father, who was still alive in St. Mungo's. But none of those excuses explained why he hadn't told us about his extended absence.

But I let that go because I was distracted by my mate's absence. I hadn't seen him since Thursday night, the night before Neville left. I hoped I hadn't done anything wrong. Because if I had, I didn't know what it was.

My distraction obscured the connection between those two situations. But the wolf showed me how joined they were on Wednesday morning.

It happened while I was teaching the 6th year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, Teddy's class (I was allowed to instruct my son, but he was graded by Grady, who had a Defense background as well as one in potions). We had just finished up practicing a round of hexes, when suddenly my head swam and I had trouble breathing.

Thinking I had somehow exhausted myself, I moved to sit in a chair. But my body just swayed, my mind went blank. Then I heard a yell. "Dad!"

The next thing I knew, I was laying flat on my back and voices were speaking above me.

"What is it?" Minerva asked as I tried to open my eyes, but failed.

"Mating withdrawal." Poppy said sharply. I could hear the clink of the bottles that she carried, but no potions were poured down my throat as I struggled with my body and the suddenly still world. 

"What?! I thought he and Neville had been together for years! You're telling me it's not complete?" Minerva sounded truly astonished. She sounded so sure that Neville...

Then suddenly, I was having trouble breathing again as my mind began to connect the dots of my life. The ones that should have been connected 17 years ago, as I lay recovering from the Killing Curse. His care of me, his fears. His treatment of Teddy, almost like a second father. For a moment, I just froze in astonishment. How could I have been blind to my mate for so long?

My mind cried out in anguish, but I still couldn't move.

Poppy sighed. "That is the only way separation can weaken either of them in only four or five days. It would take a month or two of separation, or a death, to cause this in a fully mated pair."

"How can this be?" Minerva's voice sounded strained. As strained as my nerves were as I tried to call to the wolf. I knew it could help me. But we had been so opposed to each other over the decades that I was floundering now.

"Dad was scared." A new voice--Teddy--replied. "He thinks Papa Sirius was hurt because they were together. So he tried to ignore the fact that he had a new mate." 

Finally, the wolf nudged me, ordering me to listen as Minerva addressed my son. "From what Albus told me, it was the only thing that kept Mr. Black going while he was in Azkaban." I felt a hand squeeze my arm, with the cut of metal in my skin. Minerva, as she was the only one of the three to wear jewelry on their hands. "Poor boys. These two need each other so much. But nobody knows where Neville is. I don't suppose the magic created from his half werewolf status will help us find him."

Half werewolf?! It was another revelation that I wanted to deny. But my mind honed in on the evidence. His strength, his appetite during the full moon. His understanding of my moon cycle. The wolf didn't have to howl at me this time. Moony just wagged his tail as I let myself see what had been in front of me for ages.

But now that I accepted it, I couldn't lay here on the floor while my mate needed me. I struggled with the paralysis that the mating magic put upon me. Then, with the wolf's help, I finally opened my eyes and sat up. "Wh-Who is Neville's sire?" I asked in a hoarse whisper.

"You are, of course," Poppy said gently. "He made you bite him. It was the only way we could get the Killing Curse out of you without it doing what it was intended to."

"He--." I couldn't finish my sentence. I was too distraught. How could he have done it deliberately?

"He did it to take care of you." Teddy said, reaching for me. "Papa Nev doesn't feel right if he isn't taking care of you."

Shakily, I pulled my son into a hug. His arms tightened around me as we shared our pain. So I knew it was time to share some information as well. "He was with me, the night before he left. He was taking care of me then. We completed part of the mating. But I didn't know it was him."

"I know." Teddy said into my shoulder. "I took a nap in his bed until he got back. He helped me with my Astronomy homework after you went to sleep."

I leaned back from Teddy. I wasn't going to ask if he knew what Neville and I were doing in my rooms. He had days before he turned 17. Given what the other Marauders were like at 17, my son might know more than me about what we were up to.

But I had a feeling that he also knew something that might have some bearing on what was currently happening. "Who else is aware that he was...sneaking into my rooms?"

"Tori, Professor Flitwick, who taught him that great disguise spell. Oh, and Tori's dad." Teddy hugged me again. "Nev swore us all to secrecy. He didn't want you to find out he was your mate until you were ready to listen."

I was ready to listen now. I was about to tell my son that when suddenly, my left arm flew back as if hit by something and an excruciating pain coursed down it.

"Dad!" my son exclaimed as I grimaced to keep myself from screaming.

A moment later, I could see the two women quickly look around the classroom to see who had cursed or hexed me. But then Minerva shook her head. We were the only ones there. Still, something had happened. So, Poppy quickly cast a Revelio. Again, it showed nothing out of the ordinary. All of us could see that the only magic it revealed were the hexes Teddy's class used not too long ago.

But I knew what was going on. I had felt pain like this before. Once before. And Teddy had been right. The pain of the Killing Curse coursing through my first mate had almost destroyed me. Focusing on Harry had been the only thing that kept me from joining him in death that day.

But this time I knew the pain didn't kill. For I could hear a scream in my head. A very tortured, scared but alive scream. "Neville. Something's hurting Neville." I choked out, trying to stand. I knew I had to get to my mate soon. Pain that bad meant that his life was in danger.

"I'll get Mr. Weasley." Teddy whispered frantically as he helped me up.

As soon as I was upright, the two women took my arms to keep me there.

Teddy let go of me, but hesitated for a moment. "Go, go." Minerva said quickly, shooing my son out of the DADA classroom towards the owlery. 


	10. Edward (Teddy)

I borrowed Treple's owl to send the note to Tori's dad, as he claimed that it was as fast as Harry's first owl, Hedwig. Then I used Dad's owl, Talons, to send a note to Harry as well. I only put two lines in both the notes. "Come to Hogwarts as fast as you can. Neville's in danger."

Explanations could wait until they were here. I needed to get back to my Dad.

I ran back to the Defense classroom as fast as I could to tell them the owls had been sent. Then I watched Dad as he worried and tried to figure out what to do. "I don't know this Adele in Norway. I can't follow his path there if I have no idea where he went."

His eyes met mine as he struggled with his thoughts. "Do you know her?"

I shook my head, but then I remembered a conversation I had listened to in the Greenhouse office on Thursday. "But I know somebody who does."

So I took my father's hand and guided him to the sanctum of 'caring for Rem and Moony', otherwise known as Neville Longbottom's office.

Although Nev and Dad had been close friends practically from their first meal together at the Hogwarts faculty table, Nev had declared his office to be off limits very early on and kept it that way.

I had learned that was only to keep Dad away by the time I joined the student body. Nev let me in the first time I knocked on the office door. But he had made me swear a Marauder's oath that I wouldn't reveal to Dad what was beyond it.

Because Neville's office was where he and his nemesis worked towards the same goal--to take care of the most stubborn man in the magical world. My father.

So I hesitated a moment as I walked Dad to the office door and took out the key my herbology professor had given me when I was 13. Nev had told me to only use it in an emergency (like if I realized Dad had forgotten to take his Wolfsbane and his office was the quickest way to get some).

A missing stepfather had to qualify as an emergency. So I stuck the key in the lock and opened the door.

A moment later, I heard my Dad let out a gasp.

Because so few people came in here, the signs of the office's secondary purpose weren't hidden.

There were bottles and aconite flowers scattered over the long table that Nev used for potion making. The edges of the cauldron in the middle still smoked, wafting that unmistakable awful scent of the needed concoction into the air. 

As if that were's enough, there was a box on a shelf above the table that declared in block letters: "SILVER ITEMS. DO NOT REMOVE FROM THIS OFFICE OR LET NEAR YOUR FATHER."

Dad looked up at the box, then quirked an eyebrow at me. I ducked my head as I whispered, "His mom's jewelry is in there. And his granddad's hunting dagger. I tried to sneak the dagger to my dormroom once."

Dad touched the top of my head gently, then picked up a note from Neville's desk. "Ask Adele if it's safe to add glowing saffron to Wolfsbane," he read. "Glowing saffron? You could buy half of the castle for what an ounce of that is worth."

"Longbottom thought it would be worth the price if it helped you through the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. It has been known to stabilize moods." A disembodied voice said from somewhere behind us.

Dad turned so sharply towards the voice that I had to grab his arm to steady him. The mating withdrawal hadn't backed off much. So I'd have stay nearby in case he passed out again.

But maybe that wasn't what made him stagger. Because a moment later, he was looking around, cautiously calling "Severus?"

The ghost materialized next to Nev's potted carnation with the regular sneer on his face. "Lupin. What are you doing here? Where is Longbottom?"

"Missing. Teddy brought me here to talk to the person who knew where Neville was going. I assume that person is you?" Dad barked right back at the ghost, without any hint of intimidation or the placating tone Neville used to keep the deceased Headmaster calm. I forgot sometimes that my Dad was considered one of the strongest wizards in the war. But actions like that always reminded me.

Apparently, Snape forgot at times too, because he quieted down quickly after hearing Dad snap. Then the Headmaster gave my father an oddly respectful nod. "He was going to visit Adele Durant, a magical botanist in Norway. She had the saffron and a collection of mandrakes for him. She had asked for ice ivy in return for the mandrakes. I told him that I used to get my supply from the herbologist in Diagon Alley. So he was going to floo there from Minerva's office, then use one of the public apparation points to travel to Norway."

Dad took all this in, then we turned as footsteps sounded behind us. I had forgotten to close the office door, so Bill Weasley was standing in the doorway. He nodded to Dad, then to the ghostly headmaster. "It's not hard to tamper with the magic around a public apparation point, but there may still be clues of Neville's whereabouts there. I'll go over to Diagon Alley and check that out. Harry, will Kingsley let you go to Norway to question the botanist?"

My godfather slid into the room around Bill. He squeezed Dad's shoulder and gave me a hug before answering. "It shouldn't be hard. I'm looking for information, not accusing her of anything...yet."

"Durant is a friend of your wife's, Weasley," the headmaster offered. "I believe they roomed together at Beaubaxton's. She has a reputation for being overly generous with her wares. I doubt she stole Longbottom."

Mr. Weasley nodded and turned to my godfather. "I'll talk to Fleur and see what information I can get you before you go, Harry." Then he looked over at Dad. "How are you fairing?"

"Slightly better than when Sirius died." He leaned against Neville's desk as something tried to twist his back. "Neville is taking repeated hits from something. I can feel the echoes...maybe every 10 minutes or so."

Harry swore and grabbed Dad before he fell onto the desk. "You should stay here while we handle this."

Dad shook his head. "I can't. I won't. He risked his life repeatedly for me and never told me. If he's being hurt by someone, I want to make sure whoever is doing it is removed."

The last word was growled. We could all hear Moony's tone behind Dad's. 

It made me shiver. I was glad that I was the wolf's pup, and not his enemy. 


	11. Severus

My life had been about serving two masters, both who wanted too much for me to be able to keep up. 

My afterlife seemed to be about serving one foolish man, who had no idea he was allowed to want.

Albus Dumbledore had bound me to Remus Lupin twenty years ago, when against the headmaster's wishes, I outed him as a werewolf to get him to leave the DADA position. The head of the school declared that my actions were cruel and needed to be atoned for. Because before the term he had found the wolf in his father's old cottage, starving. It seemed he believed his emaciated state would help him avoid hurting other people the night of the full moon.

Although Albus, Minerva and the four heads of the houses knew Lupin could not stay in the cursed position for more than a year (and he was only immune most of that year because he was already cursed), Albus had wanted to see if he could offer him Arithmancy without ill effects.

So Dumbledore added to my burden. I had already suffered for my time as a Death Eater. Then he troubled me further by making me swear to see to his death. But that was not enough. The old headmaster created an unbreakable spell to force me to help take care of Lupin and, as he put it, find out what real happiness was. That troubled me almost as much as killing the old man. I was doubtful from the beginning that Lupin would ever allow himself to be happy.

But then his mate created a place of safety for him. As I was dying at the same time as Lupin was during the war, I only saw the very end of what was necessary to save the doubly cursed man from death. But what I saw made me wonder at the boy I had mocked through the years as his teacher. His patience and perseverance had kept Lupin alive. And it would continue to do so. For the boy quickly realized that since the wolf had touched him, they could not be parted for very long. So Longbottom made sure he was with Lupin nearly every day. 

Given his tenacity, I realized that Longbottom was the werewolf's best shot at happiness. But as he was, I would have to be patient. If the boy rushed, he would lose Lupin. Yet, I suffered patiently in life, so doing it in death was not as bad as what could have been.

But now the young fool's progress was in danger. I knew I wasn't going to ever see the werewolf happy if I let Lupin get lost in his worry. He needed to focus. So after telling him about Longbottom's proposed journey, I pointed to the bottles of joint potion setting in an open cabinet. "If you want to be of any use to your mate, you will take that before you leave here."

For some reason I could never fathom, Lupin had always trusted me implicitly. He went to the cabinet without hesitation, grabbed the first bottle on the shelf, and swallowed its contents. Then he turned back to me. "Severus, can you join Bill and me in Diagon Alley?"

"As long as you don't expect me to be visible." I sighed. Of course he was going to expect me to help. As if I didn't do enough for him already.

But before I could berate him for it, the werewolf let out a muted scream. One look at the scared expression on his pup's face as Lupin endured Longbottom's pain made me pause. This family was enduring more than enough. I would not add to it with petty bickering.

So I told Lupin I would meet them in Diagon Alley in twenty minutes and went to consult the one who had stranded me here.

When I reached the Headmistress' office, Minerva was nowhere to be found. So I slipped through the wall and gazed up at Albus' portrait. He gazed back at me with that infernal smile.

"So Remus has finally discovered that he is not alone," the portrait said softly. "But at such a time! You must be careful to not let him panic after he finds Neville."

I scoffed. "After? Wouldn't the fool be most likely to panic during the search? I wouldn't even mock him if he did, given the stress he is under at the moment."

Albus shook his head. "Remus will do what needs to be done. He is a well trained wizard, after all. He is not immune to stress while he focuses on his craft, as his spat with Harry and near death made perfectly clear. But panic? He does that after the danger has passed. When he has to face his feelings of worthlessness again."

"I have said many things about him over the years, but I never said he was worthless." I grimaced. "Where does he get that from?"

The portrait sighed. "The Ministry laws that took so long to retract, the people who turn away from him no matter what form he's in, and the words they say. I wasn't even blameless. I thought I had no choice. I locked him away and let him suffer every full moon. Although they treated you badly, his friends showed me that I was treating him badly. And now he does it to himself when he doesn't need to."

I shook my head at the wolf's foolishness. The potion his mate made was in no danger of failing. So as long as he took every dose, he could spend the moon in the Gryffindor common room if he chose. "Longbottom has made a space for the wolf in his rooms, I believe. But I do not envy him the task of getting Lupin to use it."

"It will be a fight, yes. But perhaps Remus will reevaluate his choices in light of this situation." Albus then focused his painted eyes on me to give me what I needed. "Of course you have my permission to leave Hogwarts' grounds. Make sure you return when Remus does."

"I will. I'll even tuck him into bed if it will let me move on faster."

"Oh, that is best saved for someone else." Albus said, his eyes twinkling. "Bring them both home, Severus."

I promised that I would do my best to follow his orders. It was my only way out of this situation.

So I went to the apparation point in Hogsmeade to gather the magic that would allow me to follow Lupin and Weasley to Diagon Alley.


	12. Neville

I tried to keep from screaming but it was impossible. The pain was too great.

'I'm sorry, my love,' I thought as the lycan hit me with the muggle toolbar again. 'I can't stop you from feeling this. I should have waited. If I hadn't gone to your room, to your arms, you wouldn't be suffering now.'

But I couldn't regret what I did for long. For without those nights, I would be bereft. I wouldn't have had anything to hold onto while I endured the ravings of the man in front of me. And I so desperately needed to stay grounded. For although my first glimpse of him gave me the impression of a future friend, my sight now screamed that he was the enemy of all I hold dear.

I had met Raven Drest in Diagon Alley as I headed to the herbologist. He had fallen into me as two children on toy brooms had flown past us.

After I helped him up, I introduced myself and asked if he had been hurt. Assuring me that he hadn't been, he walked with me to the herbologist and asked if he could repay my kindness by buying me a late breakfast. Knowing that Adele wouldn't be up for another hour, I agreed. Raven had seemed to know a bit about herbs. I could always use another contact for help replenishing my supplies.

So he bought me breakfast, and we talked of plants and magical children. Since I hadn't eaten since I went to see Rem the night before, I dug into my food with enthusiasm. Severus would have cursed my foolishness at letting my appetite take over. Because that was what caused me to end up being tortured.

Raven must have put something in my meal when I turned to greet Dean Thomas as he called out my name from the Leaky Cauldron's bar. Because minutes after I went back to eating, I began to feel very drowsy.

The other man tutted as he saw me nearly fall over, saying that I should have gotten more sleep before attempting my trip. He offered to help me to the public apparation point. Perhaps I could contact my friend so she could come get me. Not in a state in which I could think clearly, I accepted.

But once we stepped near the public apparation point, he pulled me to another, hidden apparation point behind the next building. Realizing that this was not what I wanted, I started to struggle. But he held me easily. He pulled out his wand and prepared to cast. But then he looked at my neck and stopped.

A loud growl left him at he focused on my neck. The growl was from deep inside. Like the one my mate hid as much as he could. Like the one lurking inside me. Raven was a werewolf.

He growled again as I nearly slipped out of his grip. Then with a yank, he broke the chain to necklace that had kept my mate safe. He let it fall to the ground, then stripped me of my wand as well.

In doing so, he made me more vulnerable than Rem during a full moon. Because by discarding those two things, he effectively separated me from my mate. With the mating incomplete, I couldn't rely on the magic it created to alert Rem. So I tried to call on the wolf Rem had given me to get away.

But whatever Raven drugged me with also drugged my shadow of a wolf. So he had no trouble dragging me to the second apparation point and whisking me away to a small cabin in a dark forest. Even in my dazed state, I could see we were nowhere near London or Adele's house on the beach.

Though I knew evil during the war, I had not dealt much with those who had fought simply for revenge. But now I faced it head on as Raven dragged me to the back of that cabin and chained me to its wall.

"Landis should know better than to have spoken to you." he growled. "Your mate is no hero. He is a murderer. Greyback had my mate put to death for talking to that so called hero."

But before I could ask why, I saw a glint of metal coming toward me, then the world went black.

====

I drifted between pain and unconsciousness a lot after that. I knew that I was given water. It stank and splashed all over me when I tried to refuse it. I didn't remember food, of any kind. But there were ways to magically keep someone on the brink of starvation without killing them.

It probably was best that I didn't eat. I most likely would have thrown it up, because of the pain. Breathing itself was excruciating after my ribs were repeatedly battered. But the lack of oxygen that came with my labored breathing made it easier to drift away.

Rem's discovery of my condition brought me back to the world. When I regained total awareness, I struggled to remember where I was and why I was in so much pain. Then I felt Moony howl in anguish.

A moment later, I screamed as something heavy crushed my arm.

"Reject him!" The insane wolf yelled from his position in front of me. "Reject him and I will let you live."

"Never," I growled, the ghostly half formed wolf now awake as well. My wolf was struggling to get out, to attack this bastard who would dare to harm my mate. For if I rejected Rem, he would most likely die. After almost 20 years of contact, Moony would probably decide enough was enough if I left.

So not only did I have to hold onto my mate, I had to find a way to hold onto my life. He would most likely survive my torture. But my death would cost Teddy both of his remaining parents.

Luckily, this demon wolf couldn't or wouldn't cast the Killing Curse.

So I found that space inside me, the one filled Rem's heat and touch. I attacked the bastard who held me hostage by loving my mate.


	13. Remus

Bill and I hurried to the end of Diagon Alley, where the apparation points were located. Luckily, it was midafternoon, so it was mostly quiet.

We looked around, but saw nothing out of order. I sighed. The weekend had passed between the time Neville was supposed to have left and now. The chances of us finding evidence of his presence was slim. It most likely would have been swept away in the lines of people taking two day holidays.

But we looked anyway. And soon, I felt the chilling presence of my childhood nemesis as he too joined in the search.

As expected, we quickly became frustrated. There were no signs of Neville around the public apparation points. Even the invisible Headmaster started cursing the lack of signs and wandered off, presumably to get control of his temper.

To make matters worse, I could feel Neville being beaten again. There was no mistaking the pain that suffused my gut and ribs as anything but deliberately caused. Then I wobbled as his leg was hit, gasping and wondering how he stayed conscious. The pain was nearly unbearable for me, even though I was feeling it secondhand.

My vision blurred and I stumbled. Then I felt Bill holding my shoulders tightly. "I have you. Let me know when it stops," the cursebreaker whispered in my ear.

"Is it wrong of me to hope that he passes out?" I whispered back as I straightened.

"No. It would stop the pain for both of you and let you concentrate on finding him." Bill held my shoulder for one more moment, then let go as my legs started to work again.

"Lupin!" I heard Severus call from somewhere behind us. "Lupin, get over here."

"What is it?" I asked tiredly. I knew we had to continue the search, that I had to muster my energy. That was difficult when the pain and the frustration were already dragging at me. But I obediently followed the voice to a collection of rubbish bins.

"Bend down and put your hand behind the bin in front of you." Severus hissed in my ear.

I did, grimacing at the feel of grime and bugs. But I groped my way around the area. Severus needed to find Neville as much as I did. So he wouldn't be asking this of me for no reason.

Then I felt it. Something long, thin and...wooden. It caused a surge in me when I grasped it. The surge was repeated when I touched something metallic next to it. So I grasped Neville's wand firmly and levitated the other object so I could grab it.

When I opened my hand, I found myself looking at a pewter charm. I immediately knew it belonged to Neville. The wolf form certainly helped identify the owner, but the white patch on its right leg made it obvious. For who knew better than Neville how important that wound was?

I caressed the wolf with my finger while I put Neville's wand in the holster under my shirt, securely next to mine. But then another jolt of pain ran through me as Neville was hit in the back. As I gasped, I saw the wolf flash amber in my hand.

"What is it?" I stared at the wolf as Bill came over to me and helped me lean against the wall of the building near us. He cast a Revelio on the wolf and chuckled. 

"Pain detection. It's tied to you. He even made it detect levels of pain. Did Neville take lessons from Mom?"

I shook my head. "He wouldn't have needed to. Andromeda has a strong protective streak, and he is still friends with Hermione."

Bill nodded, still chuckling. "You were doomed, my friend. No matter how much you denied your wolf and what it was telling you, your mate was determined to catch you." 

I rubbed my finger over the wolf one more time. "And because of him, Moony and I are learning to work together. Neither of us want to be without him."

Bill leaned over and examined the necklace more closely. "That chain was magically reinforced." He fingered the pewter links.

"Longbottom worked with many magical plants that might attempt to grab the charm." The air around us said softly. 

"Then that had to have been ripped off his neck, by something very strong." Bill looked around carefully, then cast a couple of revealing spells around the rubbish bins and the dark building. "Start rallying your wolf. There's an apparation point hidden in the corner, and it's showing some interesting destinations." 

I raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

"Madrid, Hamburg, Cornwall." Suddenly Bill swore. "And an untraceable. Hold on." He cast a stronger spell on the area on the ground near our feet. "The best I can tell is somewhere in Wales. It was cast on Friday morning." He sighed. "That's ominous. Because there is one more person who knows about Neville's connection to you. He's no threat to you, but I can't swear for the rest of his pack."

"A werewolf? Who?" My eyes widened.

"Greg Landis, the Alpha of the pack outside Cardiff. He's the one McGonagall negotiated with to bring Bran Feist to Hogwarts. I contacted him after Teddy owled me the day of the last full moon. Your son was worried that Neville would be hurt by your wolf because he didn't know enough about mating. So I let Neville borrow the mirror I use to contact the pack. Landis was more than willing to help him. He seems to think you are a model for all lycans. But some of the others in his pack want to bring Greyback back from the dead."

I shook my head at the werewolf politics that I did my best to avoid now that I didn't have to chase the packs. That had been one of the more difficult tasks for the Order during the war. Though we shared the same anatomy, because of my background, my views were more aligned with the wizarding world than with the lycan one. That made for some very hostile meetings.

But if this werewolf had any information on the whereabouts of my mate, I had to swallow my pride and talk to him. "Do you have the mirror on you?"

Bill dug into his jeans pocket and pulled it out. He tapped it with his wand to dispel the shrinking spell on it, then tapped it again to get it to signal its twin. Then a pleasant male face filled the mirror. "Weasley, what...Oh, hello, Hero. Does your mate have more questions for me?"

The title Landis used for me made me grimace. But I took a breath and let it pass. Although I hated being idolized almost as much as being insulted, it was more important that I find out if Landis knew anything useful. "My mate is missing. He went on a trip over the weekend, and though he was due to return for his classes on Monday, there has been no sign of him."

Landis looked genuinely shocked. But as any good leader did, he only took a moment to feel before he sought action. "Then how can I help?"

Bill spoke up then. "There is a possibility that he has been taken to Wales. By someone who either doesn't like werewolves, or who hates Remus specifically."

"Give me a moment," Landis requested as he put the mirror down. We could hear him speaking to a few people near him before he picked up the magical device again. "One of the pack has also been gone since Friday. And Raven has been most vocal about his dislike of you, Sir. He was one of Greyback's enforcers during the war. He was ordered to kill his mate after she had talked to you and decided to join your cause."

Bill swore again. "That would explain the torture. The enforcers were taught to use their fists instead of magic."

I heard Landis gasp as he got a second hand look at the torture my mate was going through. My head swung back so hard that I nearly cracked it on the building behind me. But even though my head didn't make contact, it throbbed as if it had.

The Alpha's eyes looked haunted as he said, "Raven has a cabin in the forest not far from here. But the forest is big, and unmapped. So nobody knows exactly where the cabin is. I will have to bring my trackers to help you find it."

"Get them together. We'll meet you at the Cardiff station." Bill replied when I managed a nod.

I needed focus. So I repaired the chain on Nevile's wolf charm and hung it around my neck. Then, I cast a numbing spell on my body. It eased the pain I was in, but I knew it would only last until his torturer threw the next punch.

But it was enough time to plan our next move. It had to be.


	14. Bill

Many werewolves are excellent trackers. Honed in on their canine senses, they can pick up scents and other clues that most wizards would miss.

I ran with some of the trackers to strengthen my own skills. And, after 10 years or so of doing this, I thought I had developed my werewolf senses and my skills as much as I possibly could.

Until I saw Remus Lupin at work.

====

We arrived at the Cardiff apparation station within 20 minutes of our last words with Greg Landis.

Landis, understanding our urgency, made sure he and his trackers were there to meet us. But he came with bad news. "Those who speak often to Raven believe he can apparate directly to his cabin, despite the forest's magic. But he runs to the cabin during the full moons. So there may be some type of path to follow if we look hard enough."

Remus looked very worried, but nodded. I imagined that he was thinking the same thing I was. We couldn't not try to track him, but it was going to be a very difficult journey. So we discussed a few options, and made a preliminary plan. We were just about to head out, when an owl flew straight at the distraught professor.

I recognized it immediately. It was Harry's brown owl, Dobbins. I reached out to calm the exhausted creature while Remus took the note from his leg.

The professor read it quickly, then summarized, "Ms. Durant said that Neville never arrived and never contacted her. However, after Minerva sent out a few inquiries, she put Harry in contact with Dean Thomas, a former student who had dormed with Neville and Harry. He had seen Neville at the Leaky Cauldron on Friday. Neville was sitting with a man that Dean didn't recognize." He gave me the note so that I could read the description Harry had written.

I showed it to Landis, who nodded. "That was most likely Raven. The mark on his upper arm is a tattoo of his mate's face."

Remus was growing agitated as Landis and I discussed how best to handle tracking the werewolf's scent that was three and a half weeks old. I was wondering what I should do to help him when Harry suddenly arrived with a box full of bottles. "Did Dobbins give you the note? I would have just came earlier, but Kingsley insisted I bring everyone Wolfsbane from the Ministry supply. These passed Neville's inspection a week ago, so you should all be able to take them. Have you had the starting doses, Remus?"

The professor nodded. "Neville gave me a few bottles before he left, in case he was late on Monday." He sighed as he looked over at the bottles. "He's making batches for me and inspecting the Ministry's?"

"He refused to let the Ministry's potion near you after it made you sick 10 years ago. And he told Kingsley that he'd get Hermione to campaign against its use unless it was improved. But of course the egos in the Potions Department didn't ask for his and Severus' help until 2 years ago. So it's only passed his inspection this month."

"So that's what that flier was at Andromeda's house..." Remus shook his head. "How many times did Hermione have to start the campaign?"

"Five. The last one was a year ago, when one of the idiots wanted to add nightshade to the potion."

I could hear Snape mutter from behind us about the Ministry not having to go through all that work if they wanted to murder the werewolves.

Remus shot the area where Snape's voice was coming from an angry look. But I sighed with relief. The distraction seemed to let the lycan professor calm a bit.

Once the full lycans took the potion, we all apparated to the edge of the forest where the cabin lay, and Landis sent his trackers to begin picking up the scent.

But there was none to be found, until Remus waved his wand and found a set of gouges in a tree. "Claw marks," he said softly as he went over to inspect them. "He likes to scare the other animals, doesn't he?"

Remus and the other full lycans looked up to where a few hawks were gazing down on them. "Yes," Landis replied. "And if they attacked, he just killed them."

Remus shook his head. "Greyback taught them that they were kings, and that they should rule with iron fists." 

His face twisted into a disapproving frown, but he didn't dwell on Greyback's philosophy. Because a moment later, one of the trackers picked up the lycan's scent and started following it. For a few minutes. Then Remus scanned the area with magic to find the next trail.

It was an enlightening interplay. Most pack lycans rely heavily on their werewolf senses. Which can be an advantage, because they are so much stronger than humans. But then they get lost to the instinct of the wolf and often backtrack when encountering something the animal can't decipher.

But Remus' wolf never got lost in its instinct. When the scent ended, the human just pulled out his wand once again. And the wolf just waited until the human figured out the next clue or the scent returned.

Remus had done one thing the wolves I had run with never had. He had gotten his wolf to heel. Or maybe Neville had, the day he saved Remus' life. If so, the wolf never forgot the lesson.

And now he was teaching others to do the same. The trackers followed Remus' every move. They were obviously better at scenting the trail. They had more practice at it. But deduction, logic, combining those senses with a sharp mind? Remus had them beat hands down, and they knew it. So those wolves heeled behind Moony, with Landis' blessing.

Their cooperation and Landis' willingness to go along with Remus' method got us to where we needed to be much sooner than anyone expected. Remus stopped us all as we saw the first light from the cabin. Like any good tracker, he knew when to pass the lead onto someone more knowledgeable when the terrain changed from that which he knew. Here is where Harry and I had the advantage, to get us close to the cabin without Drest hearing us.

So we inched our way in, each of us wincing as we could hear Neville scream in pain and yell "No!" as Drest demanded that he give Remus up.

I looked over to Neville's mate in the semi darkness to see how he was doing. Although the wolf knew when to heel, it obviously also knew when to take control. For when I looked over, Remus' eyes were glowing, and rather than being crippled with pain, he was poised and ready to pounce.


	15. Harry

One day, when Teddy was 11 and had just started Hogwarts, Neville and I took him to Hogsmeade to get some candy while Remus recovered from the full moon. It had been a hard moon for the older man. So he had asked us to find a way to distract his worried son.

On the way there, Neville had quizzed Teddy on some werewolf basics, as they both had read one of the newer books on dark creatures, which was much kinder to Remus and his people than the older versions.

Teddy answered Neville's questions with accuracy, and a few eyerolls. He was repeating knowledge he had known all his life, like not touching a wolf who had missed one Wolfsbane dose. But then he asked a question of his own. "Why doesn't Dad have a pack?"

Neville smiled. "He had a pack, when he was a student. But now he has a castle."

Teddy pondered this, then nodded in understanding. I, however, was completely confused. And because I didn't want to appear ignorant in the eyes of a child, I stayed confused.

Until today. Until that castle mobilized to work in ways I thought it wasn't capable of, now that Voldemort was gone.

But it was. For while I was questioning Adele Durant, I received an owl to contact Dean Thomas immediately, as he had information on Neville's whereabouts. While I was talking to Dean, Kingsley mirror called me and asked me why Firenze wanted the Ministry to hand me twenty bottles of Wolfsbane *immediately* to take to Wales. While I was waiting for the bottles, I received two owls from the Head Boys of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff asking if we needed help finding their professor, as a group of the students were practicing their defense and tracking spells. 

I, of all people, should have realized what Neville had meant that day. For Remus wasn't the first recipient of care from that place. Neither was I. 

And like my own backing, his extended even beyond the castle. For didn't I and Bill run to his side just as fast as he would run to ours?

But where I had had a child's innocent trust of those around me, at least in some cases, Remus struggled to accept help from anyone. But this time he needed it, and he knew it.

So finally, he let us in. And just in time, because we had just reached the cabin that held his battered lover. And though it wasn't the night of the full moon, it was obvious that the lycanthrope who owned that cabin had let his wolf take over. Although Bill had told me that Neville had become half lycan to save Remus' life, it obviously gave him no advantage against Greyback's enforcer.

The growls and barks of the out-of-control wolf inside might have stopped me at one point. Because once, a lifetime ago, Moony had caught me off-guard and threatened me. But now that same wolf was by my side. His need and the screams of his mate made it imperative that I help.

So as Bill and I cracked open the door to the enemy wolf's den, we prepared to fight for two wolves we called ours.

====

Once that door was open, I and the Welsh werewolves rushed in to try to subdue Drest. Which wasn't easy when the man held an ax. But after he swung at us a few times, I was able to immobilize him for a moment. But only a moment, as werewolves can shake off that spell rather quickly. But that gave us a reprieve as Bill snuck behind us to lead Remus straight to Neville. 

We were trying to keep Remus and Drest separated. Because we feared that Drest would harm our friend.

We feared the wrong wolf.

When Remus reached Neville's side, I heard him growl loudly. With good reason, from what I could tell. There was not an inch of Neville that didn't appear bruised or battered. I think we were all glad he was unconcious. Because anything we would do to get him free and out of the cabin would probably be excruciatingly painful.

The growling continued as Remus and Bill removed Neville from his restraints. This, I saw out of the corner of my eye, because Landis and I were trying to keep Drest in a binding charm.

But Drest slipped out of it and headed straight for Neville. After picking up a nasty looking crowbar from the chair next to him. He turned, preparing to bash Neville on the head. I reached for him, but I knew I wouldn't be quick enough. And if I knocked the crowbar out of his hands with my wand, it probably would still hit Neville.

Luckily, before Drest could reach our prone friend, Remus shoved him against a wall and shouted, "Stay the hell away from my *mate*."

At that last word, Remus must have completed the last bit of werewolf claiming, because the swirl of magic that swept us all off our feet felt strong enough to be an echo of my own. It slammed Drest against the wall, then dropped him into the floor. Or rather pounded. Because there were cracks in the wood where he landed. The only things that swirl didn't seem to shake, jostle or beat on were the two people creating it.

But that magic was meant for two, not for one. And right now, with Neville unconscious, Remus didn't have any help controlling it. He obviously started having trouble once Drest was no longer a threat, because he couldn't keep it from stinging Bill's hand as the cursebreaker tried to get up.

I had called for backup before we entered the cabin, but they were delayed. Until they showed up, my attention needed to be on making sure Drest was restrained. So I cast a shielding spell that encased Remus and Neville. I figured it would be the safest way to keep the magic contained, as it didn't seem to be harming either of them.

This time I transfigured a bed sheet into rope to keep Drest under control. Sometimes muggle methods work best. Especially when your opponent was using mostly brute strength.

By the time I had Drest completely immobilized, Ron Weasley, my best friend and direct subordinate, had shown up with his crew to help me take Drest back to the Ministry.

But the shields I had erected around the mated pair were still filled with the sparks of out of control magic.

Although Bill and I were worried that we would be unable to calm Remus enough to get Neville out of there without a wolf at our necks, Ron just shrugged.

"I've been here before," he said quietly, then winked at me.

A moment later, he said in a loud voice, "Remus, the Headmistress has dropped the apparation wards and Madame Pomfrey has a bed open for Neville. It's time to go home."

The sparks stopped before Ron got his last word out. 

So I quickly dropped the shield and let Remus apparate with his mate to those who knew them best. 


	16. Remus

Poppy looked absolutely livid when I appeared in front of her in the Hogwarts infirmary. She was tapping her foot as she pointed me to a bed near her supply table.

"What were you thinking, completing the mating before I took care of him? Now I can't separate you two until it settles. Three days at least! Don't you remember all the changes we had to make to your schedules when you and Sirius mated?" She muttered as I eased Neville down onto the bed I was directed to. I was as careful as I could be, but I must have jostled him into semi-consciousness because I could feel his pain echo through me.

The pain stopped me from answering her in words. I just nodded to her, as I had so many times before when my stinging nerves had taken my voice after the moon.

Luckily, anger never stopped the medi-witch from doing her job competently. As soon as Neville was settled, she quickly pulled a bed next to his and helped me into it. "You'll have to stay here tomorrow night, you know. I will not treat him in that dirty shack."

I stared at her in confusion. Then I realized what she was talking about. The next night was the full moon. "Oh."

She was right. I messed this one up. Because I had solidified the magic between us, I'd have to be near Neville during the transformation. While he was still being treated for his injuries.

"Well, there's nothing to be done about it now, other than to make sure you have your potion tomorrow. I'll give him something that should keep him unconscious during the transformations. Otherwise the poor thing will spend the night in pain." Although she knew I would be in pain too, obviously my foolishness was cause for disregarding that fact.

But she stopped her diatribe immediately when Neville started gasping for air. With a wave of her wand, Poppy's face turned grave. Hurrying to her supplies, she whispered, "Hold his hand but give me as much room as possible. His lung has either collapsed or punctured."

I started gasping too as I felt his distress. My worry for his condition suddenly quadrupled. Although I knew Poppy was an excellent medi-witch, I couldn't help but feel panic. Neville's life was in danger. And I could do nothing about it. I could only watch anxiously as Poppy waved her wand, muttered spell after spell, then finally gave him a potion. Was this what Neville had gone through when I was brought here after the Battle?

But I wasn't alone in my vigil. A very large, warm hand laid itself gently on my shoulder as I watched the medi-witch work. Daring to take my eyes off my mate for just a second, I looked up to see Hagrid watching as intently as I was. A moment later, we both returned our focus to the drama in front of us. When Poppy finally muttered that Neville was stable for now, Hagrid finally looked me in the eye.

He whispered, "The Headmistress sent me in case Poppy needed anything from St. Mungo's. And to make sure you're strong enough to help Neville. Young Edward talked to Hermione. She said in cases like this, the werewolf's pack often took care of the injured and gave them strength. But Ted is exhausted. Just before you came in, Francis found him in Neville's office with his girlfriend, making that potion for your pain. He sent them to bed and finished the potion. I think he's making your last dose of Wolfsbane now."

I looked out the window. It was dark. It had to be late, at least midnight. And yet, Poppy was up so that we didn't have to endure St. Mungo's foolish treatment of werewolves. Grady chased my child to bed but still slaved over a cauldron, making a potion so that I could stay by Neville's side. Hagrid was awake and prepared to run off the moment anything had to be retrieved. And I swore I could hear the jangle of Sybill Trelawny's jewelry not far behind Hagrid.

So I kept a hold on my mate's hand, but I sat up and gave my friend the respect he deserved. "Thank you. All of you. This means a lot to me."

Hagrid just shrugged. "It's not much different than us keeping an eye on the Shack during the moon. We just called in a bunch of the Weasleys to help because this'll be a couple nights. Firenze always listens to your change during the moonrise, but without Neville, he'll have to do it at moonfall too. So George and Molly will be here tomorrow night. That way everybody can get enough sleep to teach. I don't think any of us will be sleeping tonight."

My eyes widened as I listened to him. Shocked, I asked, "How long have you all been monitoring me?"

This time Poppy spoke up as she spooned Skele-Grow carefully into my unconscious mate. "It started with Neville staying with you after the Battle. But we couldn't let him do it alone. We nearly lost you too. So when he brought you back home for good, we made a schedule for full moon nights. It hangs in Minerva's office, behind Albus' portrait. Most of the staff spend an hour listening at the Willow at least once every three moons. It usually keeps Neville and Teddy from staying up all night."

For a few moments, all I could do was stare at them. "Thank you," I murmured finally, not knowing how to express my awe at their care.

Poppy patted my arm after she finished dosing Neville. "It'll be nice to be inside this month. April nights can still get rather cold. And next month, perhaps you'll consider that spelled blanket that Fleur Weasley gave Neville to put in his rooms for you."

Just then, Francis Grady came in holding Neville's bottle bag and guiding my tired looking son. "Do you have room for one more, Poppy? I found him sleeping outside the door."

The medi-witch hmph'ed in her usual impatient way, but immediately guided Teddy to us. "You can stay here tonight and tomorrow, young man, as long as you get your assignments from your professors in the morning. I know you want to be near your fathers, but Neville needs rest. So you need to not bother him or your dad too much."

"I will, " Teddy muttered with a yawn before kissing Neville and me on the forehead.

I looped my free arm around him. "Thanks, Blue."

Teddy hugged back. "You're welcome. Love you, Dad. Love you, Papa Nev." Then he laid his hand over mine and Neville's before finding a bed in the corner where he had a good view of us.

I laid back down and studied the still face of the man I finally admitted I loved.

I knew that love could save a life. It had saved Harry's. It had saved mine. I could only hope that mine was strong enough to give Neville the same gift.


	17. Remus

I spent most of the night just watching Neville breathe. He struggled with each inhalation, even after all of Poppy's work. I found myself breathing in rhythm with him, trying to encourage the next breath. That made the medi-witch smile. "He did that with you, too. He'd lay with his heart next to yours. To keep it beating, he said. Even on the full moon nights, Firenze would find him stuck to your side, right where your heart was."

I put a hand on his chest. "He kept doing it for all these years without me even realizing it. He helped me live. And connect with those important to me. Because he loves those I love." I looked towards Teddy, in the bed directly across the room. He was awake, watching us.

"And we love him back." Teddy whispered as he came to my side. "For all he is. But especially when he helps you let us in."

I never thought I'd be happy to have my son wipe away my tears as I let the last of the barriers between me and my family fall. But I was. Those tears gave me strength. They had me reach out and ask Teddy to stay with me for a few moments.

Which supported me when Neville gasped for his next breath. I clutched Teddy's hand as Poppy rushed over again.

Neville's breathing became a little easier each time Poppy cast a spell or administered a potion. But the improvement was not fast enough for any of us. Although she tried to hide it, I could see the worried look on the medi-witch's face when she bent over my mate. But she kept at it. And right before the sun rose, Neville was breathing normally.

I must have fallen asleep after that, because I woke up later to Poppy casting a spell to straighten a few of Neville's bones. When she saw me open my eyes, she handed me the Wolfsbane bottle. "Best to take it now. Because if Francis messed up, I'll have time to give you something for your stomach. You'll need to eat enough to bolster Neville through the changes tonight and in the morning."

I obediently swallowed it down. When I told her it didn't affect my stomach, she told me to go clean up in the infirmary bathroom. "The magic between you and Neville has had some time to settle during the night, so it should allow you to move away for short periods. It had better, otherwise I'll need to heal his skin twice more tonight."

I let go of Neville's hand slowly, then got out of the bed. As soon as I did, Teddy was standing next to Poppy and resting his hand on his stepfather's.

"I don't think it works that way, Ted." I whispered, but oddly Moony seemed settled as I tousled my son's hair. Maybe it worked that way for us. There was so little known about werewolf mating that it was possible.

The possibility was enough for my son. Teddy shrugged. "It can't hurt."

He was right. Even if he couldn't keep the magic between my mate and I settled, Neville should have someone near in case he woke up. Or if he went into distress again. So I ducked into the bathroom to start my day but made sure to be back at Neville's side once Moony started pacing inside me.

And so went the rest of the morning and afternoon. Poppy, Teddy and I circled around Neville and each other making sure that our vulnerable one was always protected.

I sat in my bed next to my son, holding Neville's hand while I ate. I didn't have much appetite this time around, because of my worry for him. But I made myself consume enough for Poppy's approval. It wasn't just for me, after all.

Then I moved away from Neville as Harry and Ron came in to gather the details about the kidnapping that they were missing. I didn't want the first thing my mate heard to be about the trauma he just went through. I couldn't give them much, but I answered every question they had about seeing him the night before he left. Even the personal ones. But when Moony became restless again, I asked them to come back the next morning. We all hoped Neville would be able to answer some questions by that point.

Then I spent some time holding Neville's hand and reading the book Teddy found me until Molly and George Weasley arrived. Poppy pulled them to the side to explain to them what was needed, so I followed. And listened.

"Thank you for coming," Poppy said quietly. "I didn't want to rest unless there was someone with adequate medi-magic watching over Neville."

"I never thought I'd be glad Percy was so sick as a child, but if it helps some others, I'm glad to use what I learned." Molly smiled. George just shrugged. By the look on his face, I guessed he learned a few things in hopes of not losing any more siblings after Fred died. So I just nodded to him respectfully.

Poppy led the Weasleys over to Neville. I stood back, carefully doing my best to not shield my mate from his new caretakers.

"I don't want Remus and Neville any further apart than necessary. But they will have to be separated while Remus transforms, or he may accidentally hurt Neville. But as soon as it finishes, you should move the beds back together. They're not magic resistant, so you don't have to be near them to move them."

"But I will be," Teddy said softly as he approached us. He held up a container of some sort of powder.

"Why do you have Charlie's dragon rub? That's for magical creatures with sore muscles." George asked curiously.

"So I can rub it on Dad after he changes. Bill gave it to me. Charlie wants to know if it's just as effective on werewolves." Teddy then gave me the bottle in his other hand, the joint potion. "The less Dad hurts, the less Papa will too."

I drank the potion then nodded my acceptance to Teddy. Having him nearby would probably keep me calm. Lessening my pain, as well as Neville's, would be an added bonus. But he had to remember that caution was still warranted. "Just make sure the Wolfsbane is working properly before you do."

"Of course. I'll wait for Firenze to say it's safe. I promise." Then Teddy reached towards my neck. Not knowing why, I startled and almost backed away. But he only touched the wolf there. I had forgotten I was wearing Neville's charm.

"Let me wear it, just for tonight? I don't want it to choke you," Teddy whispered.

"Of course. Thank you." I took the chain off so I could place it around my son's neck.

Then he guided me back to the bed next to Neville's before Moony could begin to worry.


	18. Edward (Teddy)

I accidentally saw Dad change one night when I was 12. I was sitting at the Willow, as I usually did on full moon nights. Dad transformed outside the Shack because he was running late after helping Professor Ganymed set up for an Astronomy lesson. He shouldn't have even been in the Tower. The curse didn't time the change exactly. But he thought he could beat the moon because it was a cloudy night, Firenze told me later.

I had expected him at his regular well-before-moonrise time. So I was already hidden when Dad rushed by. But the change was happening fast, too fast. He barely had opened the Shack door before he was bending over with a grunt of pain and his limbs were starting to break.

I watched in horror. At the time, it was the most frightening thing I had seen.

Not because I was in danger. Because I wasn't. Dad had multiple reminders all over his rooms, classrooms, even at his chair in the Great Hall to make sure he had taken his potion. Because he had forgotten ONCE, when Harry was 13.

Not because of the wolf. When you lived with a wolf hiding inside your father, you got to know it pretty well. Even though I had never seen him in the flesh up to that point, I knew what Moony liked and disliked. I knew how he thought. And it was different than the way Dad did. I could see that they fought with each other inside Dad sometimes, when their differences led to problems. If I knew how, I offered them compromises, which usually stopped their fighting. And if I didn't know, I'd tell Nev that they needed some help.

No, what sent me running to Nev that night was watching the two beings be ripped apart. Literally. The curse that created the wolf made both of them suffer so that the wolf could emerge.

Nev understood my fear. That night, instead of having the teachers just listen at the Willow, he sent Professor Firenze over to peek into the windows of the Shack while Dad became human again. To make sure I had been wrong about Dad dying instead of transforming.

Like Nev, I wasn't scared of either side of my father. We were scared of the curse that held them together and the stubbornness that made my father neglect himself.

And yes, I skipped that day of DADA class, the one with the boggart. It'd be too hard to explain to Dad what he'd see. I didn't want him thinking I was scared of *him*.

====

But this night, I faced my fear head on. Because Dad finally realized he needed help. And I was worried that the pain the curse wrought would just echo between my fathers the whole night if he didn't get that help.

Molly and George waited outside the door to give Dad some privacy before the transformation. And so they wouldn't have to see it. Dad didn't want Nev neglected because one of them went into shock. So we moved Neville's bed to the door in case he needed help, but only kept the door cracked open.

But I sat on the bed across the room and watched Dad. He needed to know that he wasn't alone. He hadn't been in ages.

Dad looked uncomfortable as we waited. He was used to being unseen. Even when he was my age and had friends who knew how to be safe, he transformed alone. But watching over Nev meant watching over him too, because of their connection. So I was more worried that the old sheets Molly had draped Dad with were clean enough. Now wasn't the time for either him or Nev to get sick.

"This isn't going to be nice to watch, Teddy." Dad said as Firenze walked carefully across the room. Dad was frowning with worry. Probably for my safety and because he didn't want to scare me.

"I know, Dad. But Firenze and Nev shouldn't be the only ones who can check that the change went correctly." I said as the centaur settled in a spot between us. He was strong enough to stop Moony if he charged. I was close enough to the door to be out of there before any harm was done. Dad had to see that was enough safety. The fear? I considered it a healthy fear, because it was focused the thing I needed to be most scared of. The curse itself.

Firenze obviously agreed that I had reason to be in the room. "He's right, Remus. We need to keep a better eye on your transformation now that you're older. And he's old enough to handle this. He will be an adult tomorrow, after all." The centaur said softly.

For a moment, it looked like Dad was going to protest yet again. Then he looked to where Nev was resting on the bed by the door. After studying his mate, Dad straightened his shoulders and nodded.

That made me smile. I had heard Dad worry about mating so many times. He worried what it'd do to the wolf's chosen. He worried that I'd see it as hurting Mom. But I never knew Mom. I knew Dad, Nev and Harry. And somehow Nev made Dad a little stronger, a little brighter. What I did hear about Mom suggested that she would have liked that.

Then the transformation started. At first, it was as horrible as I remembered. Watching your Dad be torn apart was never easy.

But I heard Firenze whisper the names of body parts as they changed, and saw him move the bedsheet quickly so Moony's growing tail wouldn't tangle in it. So I watched the wolf emerge. And suddenly, it wasn't as bad as I thought. The change was part of Dad too.

So I moved closer to Neville's bed to get a better view. And to see if Nev had changed at all. Tori said that her Dad's hair grew in spots each full moon. I looked Nev over. I spotted a claw on his right foot, so I carefully moved it away from the his left foot. I didn't want him to scratch himself.

Firenze nodded at me approvingly, then moved towards Moony, who had finally settled on the bed. "Is everything normal?" he asked the wolf. Moony gave a rather human like nod and thumped his tail on the bed.

Satisfied, Firenze helped me move Nev's bed back next to Dad's and called George and Molly into the room. "It's safe."

Molly came in a little nervously, but George didn't seem worried about Moony at all. He just grabbed the dragon rub off Madame Pomfrey's supply table and stood by Nev's bed. When I was ready, he told me how to massage it into Dad's fur. Then he made sure Nev's hand didn't slip off Dad's paw as I went to work soothing the wolf's muscles.

Dad stayed very still as I did. Like he was afraid to move. But then Tori came in singing a song that made Dad's ears twitch. I saw that he looked at Tori intently as she came over, so I asked her what she was singing. 

"A muggle song," she whispered as she kissed my cheek. "That one about moons, hearts and eclipses that was on that record your grandma gave you."

"Oh, the one Nev plays for his plants sometimes. He liked it so much when he heard me playing it that I found him a copy on a trip into London."

At this, Moony turned his head toward me. Tori startled, but I just stroked his ear. Dad didn't like the song much. I told Tori what he had said to me about it. Mom played it a lot before he finally gave in and dated her. It had been something for her to hide her pain and frustration behind.

As Dad laid his muzzle alongside Nev's chest, I wondered if Nev had done the same. Probably. Because Tori's grandma whispered, "You should listen to your own advice, Remus. Didn't you tell Harry to quit hiding before he lost Ginny all those years ago? You need to stop it too. Then Neville wouldn't have to hide what he feels to stay close to you."

Molly patted Dad's head as his ears flattened. There was a haunted look in his eyes, like when you realize you had hurt someone you were trying to protect.

Then suddenly, Nev moved. He didn't open his eyes, but his hand reached and his body shifted toward Dad. Was it possible that he felt Dad's worry?

Dad whined and tried to move closer to his mate, but seemed afraid to do more than touch him gently. Nev's skin was still delicate. I knew Moony didn't want to bruise it. But Nev wouldn't settle.

Then Tori whispered in my ear. "Neville's trying to protect him."

Protect him? We were the only ones here. But Tori's dad said much of their connection developed when I was a baby. When Dad was hurt. And Madame Pomfrey had said he had held Dad through his recovery. He had even held the wolf...

So I asked Molly if we could move Nev so he could hold Dad. She agreed after seeing Nev try to grab for Moony a few more times. 

George and I gently rolled my stepfather against Dad while Molly put pillows behind him. Tori carefully draped Nev's arm over Moony's back. Then we watched as the pair seemed to meld into each other.

Tori and I pushed two beds together so we could rest after that. I knew that my fathers were safe with each other.

When I woke in the morning, it was to a most amazing sight. Dad was transforming back to human, in Nev's arms. Without even scratching my stepfather. He just twisted carefully so that retracting claws didn't touch the other man.  Moments later, they were wrapped around each other.

Then I got this year's favorite birthday present.

Nev opened his eyes.


	19. Neville

I didn't want to wake up. After all the pain I had felt last time I was conscious, the comforting warmth surrounding me was a welcome reprieve. And I wanted to drift in its warmth. But something was tickling my forehead. The offending object was soft, but it was just annoying enough to move me closer to opening my eyes and possibly losing the comfort I was wallowing in.

So I reached up to remove whatever it was. It moved quickly enough. But then I felt it again on the side of my face.

It was accompanied by a warm puff of air, then a voice. "Sorry. I didn't realize that would wake you." I heard whispered against my ear. "I can shave it off if you want."

What? My brain heard but didn't believe what it heard. But I so desperately wanted to believe that my mate was a whisper away from me.

So I forced myself to complete consciousness. I opened my eyes to see Rem's face so close to mine that I could feel each breath he took. And feel those offending mustache whiskers on my cheek. But that was Rem's mustache. No matter how much it tickled, I loved the way it graced his face.

"Don't you dare," I whispered back fiercely. "Or I'll train the violets to bite you again."

Rem chuckled softly. "As you wish, love."

His body shifted against mine, skin against skin. Warmth suffused me again. Then I felt his heartbeat settle against my chest. That sent me drifting again, gently. I wanted nothing more than to stay where I was for 100 years.

But I couldn't help but remember the horror I had just gone through. The one that felt like it was a heartbeat ago.

So I started to question what I saw and felt around me. Was this real? Or had I finally been so broken by the demon torturing me that I had slipped completely away? I didn't trust what my senses were telling me until I felt a hand on my shoulder. 

And a chain being placed gently back around my neck. I could see and feel the pewter wolf slide into the small space between me and Rem. It didn't flash once.

No pain. For either of us. I was home and in a bed with my mate.

Of course, I took advantage of that and settled my head against his shoulder.

I practically purred when he moved his arms around me and kissed my forehead. Contentment seemed to seep from him to me.

"We're going to go to breakfast, Dad," A familiar voice whispered above my head a few moments later. "Tori said Treple gathered some gifts for me. Molly and George already left for the Burrow. But Madame Pomfrey should be back soon. Do you want me to pull the curtain around you?"

My mate's voice rumbled softly in my ear. "Yes, please. I can come to the Hall in a few minutes if you want. Neville will have to be checked out..."

I opened my eyes again to see Teddy staring angrily at his father. "If I see you before dinner, I'll get Hagrid to drag you back here. My party isn't til later. And nobody expects you to be anywhere but right here. Take care of Papa Nev."

Surprisingly, Rem didn't even try to protest. He just pulled me closer. So I tightened my arms around him. And whispered, "Happy Birthday, Little Blue."

Teddy kissed the top of my head. "Welcome home, Papa. Make sure Dad rests. George said Moony didn't sleep a wink. He just watched you all night."

"*Moony* watched me all night? You were here for the moon?" I asked, pulling back from Rem slightly.

Rem nodded as he stroked my hair. "You needed me here. And I didn't want to come back to find you had slipped away from me when I was in the Shack."

I saw the haunted look in his eyes. He had as much trouble trusting his senses as I did.

I waited until Teddy pulled the curtain around the bed, then kissed Rem softly. "I'm here. I'm safe. You got to me in time, love."

"He nearly killed you. In fact, I'm pretty sure we almost lost you once." My mate shuddered. "I know that the last two nights are going to give me nightmares. It was too close."

"If you can handle my nightmares, I can handle yours." I murmured into his shoulder. "You're not alone."

Rem let out a soft laugh against my hair. "I know. You made sure of it. You surrounded me with care for years. I owe you so much. What can I give you that will show how much that means to me?"

"All I want is your heart, Rem." I settled his head on my chest so both of us could relax in the beat that kept us together and strong.


	20. Remus

I thought I saw half the school's faculty sigh with relief when I asked one of them for help with a class the day of the next full moon. In their eyes, I had finally come to my senses about taking care of myself.

And about taking care of my mate. Neville was still only teaching for half a day, with Ponoma Sprout filling in each afternoon. So nobody blinked when they saw two of the professors wandering around on a lovely May day, trying to disguise that they only had eyes for each other.

But I still held one thing away from myself. Although Moony whimpered inside me, I would not pull Neville into my bed again. Not yet. He needed to be a little stronger. I needed to be a little more sure of what I was to him.

I was not foolish enough to deny myself his company. I was just making sure he got enough rest, I told myself.

I stayed as close to my mate as possible before we found our separate beds each night. The first week after he awoke, I was back in the infirmary, then his room, whenever I had a free moment. More often than not, I'd find Teddy there as well. He'd be sitting in a chair by the bed doing his homework, or just watching Neville sleep. I knew I couldn't stop my son from having nightmares of his own about what had happened. But when I found him just staring at Neville, I made sure to remind him that I would listen if he needed to talk about what had happened.

We both shed tears when he did finally talk about it. But they helped us both sleep better at night, because we knew the other understood the pain and fear of nearly losing Neville.

We couldn't keep him in a cocoon forever, and we knew it. During the second week, Neville declared that he was sick of staring at walls. He was going back to work. I wasn't thrilled with his choice, as he still tired very easily. But I understood. I had done the same when Sirius used to try to get me to stay in our room all day after the full moon.

But I insisted on the half days, and on keeping an eye on him as much as possible. Although we could do nothing about the classes we taught at the same time, for all others, we found spots in the other's classroom where we could grade papers, plan the next class, or in Neville's case, catch a nap.

His naps became good reason for the 4th years to practice muffling spells. Of course, I didn't tell them I already cast one around my mate before they walked into the room. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten any rest.

And because I knew he'd worry if I didn't rest when I needed it, I left my afternoon classes to Filius and Francis the day of the full moon.

Because I wanted to let Neville have time with my human side before Moony spent his first night in our mate's quarters.

I felt guilty once I saw the care my mate had taken to make sure I had what I needed. The blanket Fleur had found was self-cleaning and spelled not to tear. And there was plenty of room for both of us on it. If I ever had to go without Wolfsbane, it would survive many months in the Shack before its spells needed renewal, so we would both be able to rest in comfort no matter which side of me was present during the moon.

Neville had put it next to his bed that night after he had taken my clothes from me and put them in a small trunk at the end of the bed that was just for my use. 

"You're going to have to get used to somebody watching this, Rem," he told me as I sat on the soft chestnut-colored blanket, naked, while he mirrored my relaxed position on the bed in pyjama pants. "We need to know when you're having problems."

"Then why is your neck bare?" I asked, noticing that his ever-present wolf charm was missing as I tried to distract myself from the moon by raking my eyes over his beloved form.

"Teddy's wearing the charm. If it triggers for more than the three minutes it takes for the change, he'll come by. But he figured we needed some time alone. When he goes to bed, it'll be passed on to whomever is staying awake tonight. Firenze and Hagrid, I think." Neville shrugged. "I don't usually look at the schedule. I never slept on full moon nights, so I was never far from the Willow."

I silently thanked my son and our friends for allowing me to adjust to this new way of handling my full moon nights with my mate. There would be other times where Moony could enjoy their company. I owed Firenze that run together, after all.

Because Moony was still as concerned for the health of the man in front of me as I was. "You should try to sleep tonight," I said softly, not hiding my worry. "You're still recovering."

"I might, if Moony can settle. If not, we can go for a walk." Neville leaned over to kiss me. "I wouldn't even have to worry about walking in the Forbidden Forest with such a loyal protector by my side."

I chuckled. He was still in awe of what I had done in Drest's cabin, or at least Bill Weasley's account of it. I don't know why he made such a big deal out of the way Moony and I had surrounded Neville with magic to protect him. Harry had had the more important fight, as he had kept Drest contained.

But I knew my mate wouldn't listen to my protests about Bill making me look better than I was. So I just said, "Sirius was the dog, love."

"Don't worry, I don't have any plans to get Moony a leash or collar." Neville's gently teasing grin was the last thing I saw before the transformation took hold.

Moments after I returned to my senses, I felt something warm settle on the blanket next to me. I turned towards it and inhaled my mate's scent. So I shifted closer to him. He wrapped his arm around me so I could feel his lifeforce flow through us both.

Then we slept.

====

A few days after the moon, I finally found my mate's last secret.

I had just left him at his door, then had come into my rooms to get ready for bed. After pulling on a pair of pyjama pants, I grabbed a book off my bookshelf in the corner to read for a bit.

As I reached for the book, I smelled a hint of cinnamon.

Neville had not used his oil in more than a month, so I instantly became curious to find where it was coming from. The elves had washed my sheets a few times since then. That couldn't be its source. So I looked around the bookshelf. And found a small door.

When I opened it, the smell of cinnamon became stronger. So I lit my wand and entered the hallway beyond it. It didn't take me long to reach another small panel at the other end.

I knew what I'd find on the other side even before I opened it. So this was how Neville came into my rooms without making my heavy chamber door squeak.

Not wanting to wake my mate, I put out my wand before entering his rooms. And watched him sleep from the foot of his bed.

Or I thought he was asleep until a wind flowed past me from the hallway and I heard, "Close the door and come to bed, Rem. That hallway is drafty."

Then another voice. "I am not a draft!"

Startled, I took a step back. Neville opened his eyes and shifted on the bed as Severus appeared next to it.

"It is time for me to go, as I believe you can handle the rest of your mortality on your own." Severus nodded to me civilly. "I'll tell Black and Nymphadora that you are in good hands." Then his gaze shifted to Neville. "And I will do the same for your mother and grandmother. Do not mess this up, either of you. I have no desire to be back here too soon."

Then he disappeared before either of us could reply.

Neville let out a chuckle as his eyes met mine. And he held out his hand to me. "Now that he's finally happy, come here so I can get some sleep."

I closed the hallway door and came over to sit on the bed. But Neville pulled me down next to him a moment later. Then he kissed me so fiercely that I was moaning when he pulled back. "Exactly how am I supposed to get any rest without you here with me?" he complained softly.

"I was just trying to let you recover," I whispered against his cheek before I nuzzled his neck. Despite my belief that he'd recover faster if we were apart at night, I couldn't keep my hands off him.

He didn't help me strengthen my resolve. He made it break more by wrapping his arms around me. "Then stop making me sneak into your room after you fall asleep. I can't sleep with you three rooms away from me."

I pulled back to look at him worriedly. He just gave me a long stare, as he did when he thought I was being particularly stubborn.

Then I realized that the hallway had smelled more of him as I walked through it than it had of cinnamon. Well, that did explain the 'rash' on my shoulder I woke up with a couple days ago. And the sudden absence of nightmares this last week.

I sighed. I messed up again. Bowing my head, I whispered, "I'm sorry. I--" 

"Worry way too much," Neville kissed me again, this time gently. "About the wrong things. A little nightly exercise would probably help me sleep. Moony can tell how much I can handle."

He rolled on top of me, straddling my hips. "And what I need."

His eagerness showed in his eyes, so strongly that there was no way I could miss it. I couldn't help but respond. I didn't even wait for the wolf's nudge before I vanished our pyjamas with a wave of a hand. That hand then settled on his hip to help him rock against me slowly.

Surprisingly, a wave of contentment washed over me before my arousal took over.

"Mmhmm, that's it," Neville murmured as he watched my face. "Let me take care of us tonight. Just relax."

And for the first time, I did. I let my worries drift away as my mate slowly rocked against me and built the magic surrounding us. Passion. Love. Trust.

But it wasn't long before we were on the edge. Although he had staked his claim on me weeks ago, this was the first time his eyes met mine as he gave his hips that last hard shove that sent me spiraling into ecstasy.

"My mate," he growled. Then my hands automatically tightened on his shuddering form as he joined me in bliss.

We curled around each other as our bodies settled. Right before I drifted off, I heard him murmur, "I expect to be claimed by Moony in the morning. After I finally get enough sleep."

I agreed with a kiss to the small scar on his arm, the one created by the bite that gave him my heart for safe keeping.


End file.
